Jean Royère

Jean Royère was a mid-20th-century French decorator and furniture designer known for pioneering modern pieces such as the Ours Polaire (Polar Bear) chairs. To this day, his furniture designs continue to captivate audiences with their signature unconventional shapes and vibrant colours.

Born in 1902, Jean Royère was the only son of a high-ranking civil servant from Brittany and his French wife, who had been raised in Vienna and was related to Charles Darwin and the founders of Wedgwood ceramics. After studying classics at Cambridge university, he worked with his uncle, a powerful figure in the import-export trade. However, in 1931 at the age of 29, Royère decided to switch professions and become an interior designer without any formal design education. His parents opposed to the idea, but finally gave in after the intervention of Louis Metman, a family friend who was also the director of the Museum of Decorative Arts .

Royère made an immediate impact in the industry, winning a competition in 1934 to design the restaurant of the Hotel Carlton on the Champs-Elysées. His interior design utilised unusual forms, marked by a joyous post-war fluidity and vitality. The inception of Jean Royère furniture in 1931 mirrored the era’s climate. Art Deco opulence and emerging Modernist principles gave way to experimentalism. Inspired by innovators such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Djo-Bourgeois, Royère’s work was bound for success.

Royère’s versatile designs garnered international acclaim and a prestigious clientele, having designed interiors for Prince Faisal and King Saud of Saudi Arabia and furniture for King Husein of Jordan and the Shah of Iran. Before World War II, Royère established himself in Cairo and subsequently opened a showroom in 1946. Later, he set up offices in Beirut and Tehran. In 1955, as the political situation in the Middle East deteriorated, he branched out to Lima and, two years later, to São Paulo. Despite his extensive global travels, Royère enjoyed retreats in Europe, owning properties in Saint-Tropez, Forêt de Marly and Mallorca. Each location enriched his designs with a distinctive style.

Transcending traditional methods, Royère played with unique materials. In 1949 at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs, the ‘Flaque (Puddle)’ coffee table introduced Royère’s technique of straw marquetry. Throughout his career, Royère defied the strict categorisation of furniture making. Other Royère classic designs include the ‘Oeuf (Egg)’ chairs, the ‘Liane’ sconces and the ‘Éléphanteau’ armchairs.

Royère completed over 1,000 design projects before retiring from design in 1971. In 1981 he died in Pennsylvania, leaving his archives to the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris. Today, Royère is as popular as his contemporaries Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé. Bridging elegance, comfort and a sense of humour, his designs carry an enduring appeal. In March 2023, a complete set of Jean Royère ‘Ours Polaire’ sofa and pair of armchairs achieved US$3,420,000 at Christie’s — a world auction record price for the artist and the model at the time.