Though the fame of the sculptor and painter Meret Oppenheim stems mainly from a single work of art, that one was a doozy. Known as Object, the enduringly disconcerting fur-covered teacup, saucer and spoon that Oppenheim created in 1936 remains the one of the most notorious works to spawn from the Surrealist art movement.
Born in Germany and raised in Basel, Switzerland, Oppenheim was encouraged to pursue art by her maternal grandmother, a writer and illustrator. Oppenheim moved to Paris to attend art school in 1932. There, she met the sculptor (and fellow Swiss native) Alberto Giacometti, who introduced her to Man Ray, Max Ernst and André Breton, the founder of the Surrealist movement. Within a year, Oppenheim was exhibiting her paintings with the Surrealists, the first female artist to do so.
Object, the story goes, was born of a lunchtime chat that Oppenheim had with Pablo Picasso and his muse, artist Dora Maar, one afternoon in 1936. The Spanish-born artist admired an unusual fur-lined bracelet that Oppenheim wore, and she replied that anything could be covered fur, “even this cup and saucer!” Her imagination fired, Oppenheim bought some china and a swatch of Chinese gazelle fur. When it was exhibited in New York, Object was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art — the first work of art by a woman acquired by the institution.
Another Oppenheim piece has become an icon of the art-as-design genre, a category that has currency among art collectors: the Traccia table, a side table with a gold- or silver-leafed wooden top, incised with the shapes of two bird-claw impressions, and a cast-bronze base in the form of stork legs. The Traccia — from the Italian for “track,” as in animal track — was created for the 1939 opening of art dealer Leo Castelli’s first gallery, on the Place Vendôme in Paris. The maker Simon International began producing versions of the Traccia in 1970, and the piece is now made by Cassina. Examples are typically priced between $6,300 and $8,500, depending on condition. As striking and amusing today as when it first appeared, the Traccia is an always-suave addition to a modern art and design collection and a tribute to the humor and ingenuity of a groundbreaking 20th-century artist.
Find original Meret Oppenheim art and furniture on 1stDibs.
$6,206Sale Price / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Low Table For Cassina
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Low Table For Cassina A synergy of geometry and imagination sparked the idea for the iconic Traccia design low table that Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim design...
Marble
20th Century Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table by Simon Gavina Golden '70s
By Simon Gavina Editions, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Turin, Turin
This table is a surrealist piece of furniture made while International Style was popular. Meret Oppenheim was a German-born Swiss artist and designer best known for her teacup lined ...
Bronze
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table for Cassina, Italy, new
By Meret Oppenheim, Cassina
Located in Berlin, DE
Price varies dependent on the choice of material and size. Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina ...
Bronze
TRACCIA “Bird Leg” Surreal Gold Leaf and Bronze End Table, Italy
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Tinton Falls, NJ
* Please Note: This Table Offered Is From The Original SIMON International Production (1975-1980) / It is the True VINTAGE Version, not the contemporary reproduction!! Actua...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
$6,206 / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’opera d’arte funzionale”, or functional artworks, in so doing inaugurating a new approach of furnishing where surreal objects were adapted for everyday use. This led to the creation of the Ultramobile collection. These pieces, that went beyond (ultra) furniture (mobile) engaged the imagination, complementing rational intelligence with a sense of wonder, where geometry interacted with fantasy. One of these pieces was the low table that the Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim designed in 1929 for Leo Castelli’s avant-garde gallery, dubbing it the “Bird Leg Table...
Steel
Original Traccia Table by Meret Oppenheim, Gavina, Italy (old Edition)
By Meret Oppenheim, Gavina
Located in Argelato, BO
Meret Oppenheim surrealistic "Traccia" table, Simon Gavina Srl, Italy, 1970s The eclectic Italian entrepreneur Dino Gavina decided to revisit the famous "Traccia" table together wit...
Brass
$6,206 / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Low Table For Cassina
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Low Table For Cassina A synergy of geometry and imagination sparked the idea for the iconic Traccia design low table that Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim design...
Marble
Table ’Traccia’ by Meret Oppenheim for Simon Gavina, Italy, 1972
By Meret Oppenheim, Studio Simon
Located in Echt, NL
Original ’Traccia’ table in very good condition. Designed by Meret Oppenheim Produced by Studio Simon’s Collezione Ultramobili, Milan, 1972 The tabletop is covered in gold leaf and has bird tracks embossed in the surface. The top rests on two brass feet in the form of bird legs. The original table was exhibited by the Surrealist artist Meret Oppenheim in 1939 for the Parisian gallery René Drouin...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table in Wood Gold Leaf and Bronze by Gavina 1980s
By Meret Oppenheim, Simon Gavina Editions
Located in Cascina, Pisa
Traccia side table with structure in polished cast bronze, elliptical top in plywood finished with fine yellow gold leaf. Traccia table was origi...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
$6,206 / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim traccia sculptural table. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “...
Steel
Original 1970s Production Meret Oppenheim Traccia Table, Gavina, Italy
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Lewes, East Sussex
An original and authentic Meret Oppenheim Traccia table. This table manufactured by Gavina, Italy as part of the initial production in th...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
$6,206 / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’opera d’arte funzionale”, or functional artworks, in so doing inaugurating a new approach of furnishing where surreal objects were adapted for everyday use. This led to the creation of the Ultramobile Collection. These pieces, that went beyond (ultra) furniture (mobile) engaged the imagination, complementing rational intelligence with a sense of wonder, where geometry interacted with fantasy. One of these pieces was the low table that the Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim designed in 1929 for Leo Castelli’s avant-garde gallery, dubbing it the “Bird Leg...
Steel
20th Century, Meret Oppenheim for Gavina Side Table mod. Track
By Meret Oppenheim, Gavina
Located in Turin, Turin
This table is a surrealist piece of furniture made while International Style was popular. Meret Oppenheim was a German-born Swiss artist and designer best known for her teacup lined ...
Bronze
Traccia coffee table by Meret Oppenheim for Simon, 1972
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Traccia Coffee Table, Meret Oppenheim, Simon, Italy, 1972 Iconic Surrealist coffee table with oval top made of embossed gold plate, supported by two cast bronze bird feet. Designed...
Bronze, Sheet Metal
$12,413Sale Price / set
Meret Oppenheim Set of Two Traccia Low Table For Cassina
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim set of Two Traccia Low Table For Cassina A synergy of geometry and imagination sparked the idea for the iconic Traccia design low table that Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim designed in 1939, calling it the “Bird Leg Table...
Marble
$6,206 / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’...
Steel
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table in Wood Gold Leaf and Bronze by Gavina 1980s
By Simon Gavina Editions, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Cascina, Pisa
Traccia side table with structure in polished cast bronze, elliptical top in plywood finished with fine yellow gold leaf. Traccia table was originally designed by Meret Oppenheim i...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
$6,206 / item
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’opera d’arte funzionale”, or functional artworks, in so doing inaugurating a new approach of furnishing where surreal objects were adapted for everyday use. This led to the creation of the Ultramobile collection. These pieces, that went beyond (ultra) furniture (mobile) engaged the imagination, complementing rational intelligence with a sense of wonder, where geometry interacted with fantasy. One of these pieces was the low table that the Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim designed in 1929 for Leo Castelli’s avant-garde gallery, dubbing it the “Bird Leg Table...
Steel
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’...
Steel
Charlotte Perriand Mexique Coffee Table for Cassina Italy
By Cassina, Charlotte Perriand
Located in Skokie, IL
Table designed by Charlotte Perriand in 1952-1956. Relaunched in 2014. Manufactured by Cassina in Italy. Included as one of the tables en forme libre created between 1938 and 1939, t...
Steel
Pair of Italian End Tables on Scrolling Legs
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Pair of side tables, with painted finish, each having a square top with canted corners, of glass, raised on four double scrolling legs, on graduated ...
Glass, Wood
Marcel Breuer Laccio Coffee Table by Gavina
By Marcel Breuer
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful 1980s Laccio Coffee Table by Marcel Breuer for Gavina. This coffee table is in good vintage condition with only some very minor pitting...
Steel, Chrome
Nesting Table By Gianfranco Frattini For Cassina Italy 1970s
By Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Čelinac, BA
Gianfranco Frattini Nesting Table for Cassina Italy 1970s
Glass, Wood
Afra & Tobia Scarpa, A Low Table, Model 771, Cassina, 1960s
By Cassina, Afra & Tobia Scarpa
Located in Paris, FR
A square walnut low table, the top plate rested on the frame supported by four rectangular feet. With "Cassina" label underneath. Manufactured by Cassina. Italy, 1960s. Provenance P...
Walnut
$2,220
H 12.6 in W 58.27 in D 20.48 in
Large "Marcel T" Chrome Coffee Table by K. Takahama for Cassina, Italy 1974
By Kazuhide Takahama, Cassina
Located in Roma, IT
Stunning and very rare “Marcel T” coffee table in chrome-plated steel and crystal, designed by Kazuhide Takahama and produced by Cassina in 1974 as a tribute to Marcel Breuer’s iconi...
Crystal, Chrome, Stainless Steel
Sofa Side Table Round Gold and Bronze Leaf Finish Handmade in Italy
By Cupioli made in Italy
Located in Rimini, IT
Side tables " Operà " offered in two heights to create a play of overlapping tops and matching finishes. Vibrant artistic decoration is juxtaposed with manual application of gold lea...
Ceramic, Resin
$1,342Sale Price|41% Off
H 13 in W 29.53 in D 29.93 in
Early Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table Bastiano by Tobia & Afra Scarpa for Gavina
By Afra & Tobia Scarpa, Gavina
Located in Warszawa, Mazowieckie
This low coffee table was designed by the architectural duo Tobia and Afra Scarpa in 1962 and manufactured by the Italian manufacture Gavina. It is an early production table from the Bastiano series. It is made of teak wood and finished in a dark shade of brown. The top is placed loosely on a wooden frame. It is a real example of functional, yet stylish, modern Italian design. Afra and Tobia Scarpa are an award-winning duo of postmodern Italian architects. Their works can be found in museums in the United States and Europe, including collections at MoMA and the Louvre. They have cooperated with companies such as B&B Italia, San Lorenzo Silver...
Teak
$5,500
H 25.6 in W 26.38 in D 20.87 in
Original 1970s Production Meret Oppenheim Traccia Table, Gavina, Italy
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Lewes, East Sussex
An original and authentic Meret Oppenheim Traccia table. This table manufactured by Gavina, Italy as part of the initial production in th...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
$7,022
H 15.75 in W 37.8 in D 50.4 in
Caori Coffee Table by Vico Magistretti Knoll International Gavina Black 1960s
By Vico Magistretti, Gavina
Located in Berlin, BE
Beautiful Coffee Table by the famous italian Designer Vico Magistretti called ,,Caori“ , manufactured by Gavina in the 1960s. The coffee table is made of lacquered wood. The top is i...
Metal, Stainless Steel
$7,683 / set
H 18.12 in W 22.84 in D 22.84 in
Italian Midcentury Gianfranco Frattini Black Nesting Tables for Cassina, 1960s
By Gianfranco Frattini
Located in Salzburg, AT
Set of three black high gloss stacking tables by Gianfranco Frattini, Italy, 1960s. The wood has been completely re-lacquered due to the worn surface and is now in perfect condition....
Glass, Wood
Sold
H 25.2 in W 26.78 in D 20.87 in
Meret Oppehneim for Cassina Edizioni Simon Tavolino "Traccia," Italy 1972
By Meret Oppenheim, Cassina
Located in Naples, IT
This rare and iconic table features a gold leaf-covered wooden top with embossed bird tracks across the surface. It rests on two sculptural solid brass legs in the shape of bird's fe...
Brass
Meret Oppenheim, Tavolino mod. "Traccia", Prod. Gavina, anni '70
By Gavina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Rivoli, IT
Iconico tavolino mod. "Traccia" di Meret Oppenheim per Gavina. Il piano del tavolo è rivestito in foglia d'oro e presenta tracce di uccelli in rilievo sulla superficie. Condizioni vi...
Gold Leaf, Metal
Coffee table mod. "Traccia" Meret Oppenheim for Simon, Italy
By Meret Oppenheim, Simon Gavina Editions
Located in Rivoli, IT
Iconic coffee table mod. "Trace" by Meret Oppenheim for Gavina. Il piano del tavolo è rivestito in foglia d'oro e presenta tracce di uccelli in rilievo sulla superficie. Vintage cond...
Gold Leaf
Traccia Table by Meret Oppenheim, 1970s
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Dallas, TX
The 'Traccia' table with gold leaf top and brass legs. Designed by Meret Oppenheim and produced by Simon International, 1972.
Brass
Sold
H 25.2 in W 26.78 in D 20.87 in
Tavolino mod. "Traccia" Meret Oppenheim per Simon Gavina, Italia, 1972
By Meret Oppenheim, Simon Gavina Editions
Located in Rivoli, IT
Iconico tavolino mod. "Traccia" di Meret Oppenheim per Simon e Gavina. Il piano del tavolo è rivestito in foglia d'oro e presenta tracce di uccelli in rilievo sulla superficie. Condi...
Gold Leaf
Sold
H 25.2 in W 26.78 in D 20.87 in
Surrealistic Original Traccia Coffee Table by Méret Oppenheim, 1970s
By Meret Oppenheim, Estel
Located in Renens, CH
The Traccia (“Trace”) side or coffee table was designed by artist Méret Oppenheim in 1939, representing a birdlike animal. The foot-printed, gold-leaf covered table top is in the sha...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Sold
H 25.6 in W 26.38 in D 20.87 in
Early Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table for Simon Gavina, Italy 1972
By Simon Gavina Editions, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Milan, IT
Meret Oppenheim Traccia side table by Simon Gavina 1972 Designed by Meret Oppenheim in 1939 and produced by Simon Gavina in 1972 Gold leaf wood...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Meret Oppenheim Bronze 'Traccia' Coffee Table, Italy, 1972
By Meret Oppenheim, Cassina
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Méret Oppenheim for Simon Gavina, 'Traccia' coffee table, in bronze, gold leaf and wood, Italy, circa 1972. When animals and furniture meet... This side table by surrealist artist Méret Oppenheim is part of the 1972 serial production of the original design she made in 1939. Both the golden color and shape of this table are very distinctive. The table is can be seen as the abstract representation of a bird. The bird is represented without its actual body, but with the definitive elements such as marks, the egg and legs. Everybody knows it is a bird, even though it is not literally there. The table's name: Traccia means 'trace'. Another reference to the fact that something can represent a certain object, even though what we see are only traces. The frame is made of solid cast bronze. The tabletop holds the shape of a golden egg. On the top are two imprints of bird feet.
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Traccia Table by Meret Oppenheim, 1970s
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in bruxelles, BE
table with bronze leg and wooden top covered with gold leaf. Wear due to age and time of the table
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Pair of Meret Openheim 'Traccia' tables, c1970
By Meret Oppenheim, Studio Simon
Located in London, GB
A pair of restored Meret Openheim 'Traccia' tables for Studio Simon. A superb pair of Surrealist tables designed by Meret Openheim in the 1930s. Fully restored.
Bronze
Surrealistic Traccia Coffee Table by Méret Oppenheim, 1970s
By Estel, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Renens, CH
The Traccia (“Trace”) side or coffee table was designed by artist Méret Oppenheim in 1939, representing a birdlike animal. The foot-printed, gold-leaf covered table top is in the sha...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Meret Oppenheim 'Traccia' Coffee Table in Gilded Wood and Brass
By Meret Oppenheim
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Meret Oppenheim, 'Traccia' coffee table, gilded wood, brass, Italy, design 1939 This surrealistic side table is designed by one of the most renowned Surrealist artists Meret Oppe...
Brass