Design duo Garouste and Bonetti is best known for concocting Surrealist, avant-garde, romantic furniture and lighting that merge whimsy and wonder with luxury and sophistication.
Born in Paris in 1946, Élizabeth Garouste studied interior design at the École Camondo and worked as a theater set designer before meeting Mattia Bonetti in the late 1970s. Bonetti, born in Lugano, Switzerland, in 1952, attended Lugano’s Centro Scolastico per L’Industria Artistica, where he studied textile design and got into photography.
Their first collaboration came in 1981, after Garouste’s husband, interior designer Gérard Garouste, asked them both to produce designs for the Paris restaurant Le Privilège. They devised a collection of Art Brut–inspired furniture called Barbare, which debuted at the Jansen House of Interior Design, earning them the nickname Les Nouveaux Barbares (the New Barbarians).
Garouste and Bonetti achieved international acclaim in 1987 when French couturier Christian Lacroix hired them to design for his maisons de couture in Paris and London. Instead of the staid decor used by other haute couture houses, Garouste and Bonetti’s furnishings were rebellious and daring. As described in Architectural Digest, “rooms and carpets were acrid ochers, edged with black baroque swirls Louis XVI-inspired chairs upholstered in fruit tones. Tree stump stools topped with ivory tufted cushions. White curtains were trimmed with black polka dots the size of pancakes.”
Following their success with Lacroix, Garouste and Bonetti designed interiors for illustrious clients such as German socialite Princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis and Bernard Picasso, a French art collector and grandson of Pablo Picasso.
Throughout the late 1980s and ’90s, Garouste and Bonetti designed several modern pieces such as rainbow-colored console tables, the wavy, high-backed Koala sofa, ceramic tableware, table lamps and decorative objects. In 2002, the duo parted ways.
Bonetti continues to create furniture, finding inspiration in everything from ancient Greece to children’s toys to UFOs. His works have been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Garouste also continues to design and is inspired by the natural world for her “quirky pieces,” Élisabeth Delacarte, owner of the Paris gallery Avant-Scène, says of her designs: “You feel like you’re in a dream rather than in reality. She very much has her own universe.”
On 1stDibs, find a range of vintage Garouste and Bonetti tables, seating and serveware.
Two Garouste and Bonetti Bronze Boxes for the Collection of Herbert Blome 2001
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Milan, IT
Two Garouste and Bonetti Bronze Boxes for the Collection of Herbert Blome 2001 Both are fully signed
Bronze
$18,520
H 1.19 in W 3.75 in D 4.34 in
“Cannabis” or “The World of Plants” by Line Vautrin, gilded bronze box, France
By Line Vautrin
Located in Uccle, BE
“Cannabis” or “The World of Plants” by Line Vautrin, gilded bronze box. “Finely chiseled gilt bronze box, the lid depicting a central plant whose leaves, veins, and roots radiate sym...
Bronze
Gem of a Bronze Antique Jewelry Box
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Beautiful heavy small jewelry box having ornate cast bronze surface and lined in red velvet.
Bronze
Arnaldo Pomodoro and Giò Pomodoro bronze box from the 1950s
By Gio Pomodoro, Arnaldo Pomodoro
Located in Vigevano, PV
Arnaldo Pomodoro and Giò Pomodoro. A bronze box with lid, part of a series of four boxes created by the two brothers Giò and Arnaldo Pomodoro for the Galleria Editrice Il Sestante in...
Bronze
$11,766
H 1.19 in W 3.12 in D 3.59 in
The sweeper of the Sacred Heart by Line Vautrin – Gilt bronze box
By Line Vautrin
Located in Uccle, BE
La balayeuse du Sacré-Coeur (The sweeper of the Sacred Heart) by Line Vautrin, gilt bronze box. Generously sized gilt bronze box. The lid chiselled with a decoration of a multitude o...
Bronze
Sèvres Porcelain And Bronze Box
Located in New Orleans, LA
Seven resplendent Sèvres porcelain plaques surround this magnificent doré bronze box. The bright floral motif on the plaques perfectly matches the intr...
Bronze
French Victorian Bronze and Enamel Box
Located in Queens, NY
French Victorian bronze and multicolored enamel cloisonne box with floral and scroll design with red velvet interior.
Bronze, Enamel
$2,070
H 2.76 in W 3.94 in D 1.97 in
Set of 8 bronze sculptural door handles in the style of Garouste et Bonetti
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Bois-Colombes, FR
1980's Set of 8 bronze Door handles in the style of Garouste et Bonetti
Bronze
Bronze Box with a Map of Gronland ‘Greenland’ on the Lid
Located in NYC, NY
A bronze box with a map of Greenland (Cronland in Danish) incised into the top of the box lid, with a cerused oak interior on solid metal feet. Incised on the underside with makers m...
Bronze
Silver cigar box in the shape of a chariot pulled by two swans
Located in Porto, PT
Description: Silver cigar case in the shape of a chariot pulled by two swans. Metal: Silver. Origin: European. Brand: Unknown. Weight: 138.42 grams. Dimensions: 15.7cmx10.3cm. Conten...
Silver
Collection of Four 19th Century French Boxes
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Collection of four boxes from France. Hand-painted. 19th century. Measures: Oval box 2 inches H x 3.5 inches W x 3 inches D Round box 2 inches H x 3 inches D Small rectangle 1.5 i...
Paint
Set of Two Late 19th Century Baccarat Bronze & Glass Boxes
By Baccarat
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Set of two antique ormolu and cut-crystal casket boxes by Baccarat, France. Since 1764, Baccarat have crafted superb glass pieces for an elite clien...
Crystal, Bronze
Round Porcelain Box from the Hatcher Collection Decorated with Phoenix
Located in Atlanta, GA
17th century Chinese porcelain blue and white cosmetics box from the Hatcher Collection decorated with a phoenix. The phoenix is painted with its wings outstretched, its tail flutter...
Porcelain
Garouste & Boneti Set of Bronze Objects, France 1980's
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in New York, NY
Cast bronze set of objects designed in the 1990s by French artists Elisabeth Garouste et Mattia Bonetti for Herbert Blome signed B.G. BLOME B.G.H. EDITIONS/BLOME. A set was sold by W...
Bronze
Sold
H 10.24 in Dm 9.45 in
Rare Emaux de Longwy Ceramic Boule Vase by Garouste and Bonetti Limited 1 of 5
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Miami, FL
This Boule vase “Ornament “ is a rare limited edition numbered 1/5 by Elizabeth Garouste was born in 1949 in Paris and Mattia Bonetti in 1952 in Lugano (Switzerland). They pooled their work from 1980 to dedicate themselves to the creation of pieces of furniture and interior decoration. They start with the decoration of the Palace that Fabrice Eamer asks them to design. Then shortly after, the Néotu Gallery publishes them. Their furniture, baroque and barbarian, surprises, made up of heterogeneous and unusual materials, such as rock, hammered bronze, raffia, leather, skin, logs and glass ... They are at the instigation of fashion "barbaric". For their work, they use references such as the Middle Ages, Africa, through the poetry of Cocteau, the Venetian baroque and neoclassicism. They have also been edited by the “Waiting for the Barbarians” galleries, David Gill, Kréo, Lou Fagotin...
Ceramic
'Trapani' Candleholder by Garouste & Bonetti for Daum, France, 1989
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
'Trapani' candleholder by Garouste & Bonetti for Daum, France 1989. Limited edition coral-inspired design of Daum pate de verre glass and metal with nine bespoke poured candles. Sign...
Glass
Garouste and Bonetti Bronze Vide Poche for the Collection of Herbert Blome
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Vienna, AT
Cust bronze bowl designed in the 1990s by French artists Elisabeth Garouste et Mattia Bonetti for Herbert Blome signed B.G. BLOME B.G.H. EDITIONS/BLOME.
Bronze
Sold
H 10.24 in Dm 9.45 in
Rare Emaux de Longwy Ceramic Boule Vase by Garouste and Bonetti Limited 1 of 5
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Miami, FL
This Boule vase “Ornament “ is a rare limited edition numbered 1/5 by Elizabeth Garouste was born in 1949 in Paris and Mattia Bonetti in 1952 in Lugano (Switzerland). They pooled the...
Ceramic
Sold
H 1.19 in Dm 3.55 in L 1.19 in
Garouste and Bonetti Bronze Vide Poche for the Collection of Herbert Blome
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Vienna, AT
Cust bronze bowl designed in the 1990s by french artists Elisabeth Garouste et Mattia Bonetti for Herbert Blome signed B.G. BLOME B.G.H. EDITIONS/BLOME.
Bronze
Bench Garouste and Bonetti
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Garouste and Bonetti Vacuum pocket ceramic enameled monogram BG embossed, 1988. Measures: 3.5 x 24 x 19 cm.
Ceramic
Sold
H 0.99 in W 3.35 in D 3.35 in
Garouste and Bonetti Bronze Vide Poche for the Collection of Herbert Blome
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Munich, DE
The French designers Elisabeth Garouste et Mattia Bonetti designed these bowls along with seven other small cast bronze objects for Herbert Blome between 1996-2001 signed B.G. BLOME ...
Bronze
Garouste Et Bonetti Bronze Vide Poche for H Blome 1999
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Chicago, IL
French artists and designers, Garouste et Bonetti abstract form bronze vide poche or small bowl for H Blome 1999 with original box. Signed and da...
Bronze
Garouste and Bonetti Bronze Vide Poche for the Collection of Herbert Blome
By Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti
Located in Chicago, IL
The French designers Elisabeth Garouste et Mattia Bonetti designed this bowl along with seven other small cast bronze objects for Herbert Blome between 1996-2001 signed B.G. BLOME B.G.H. EDITIONS/BLOME and showing at pavilion antiques.
Bronze