Commode by Jean Royere

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Commode by Jean Royere

About the Item

The cabinet with three doors supported by block feet, all dramatically veneered in alternating bands of coromandel, ash and walnut. This very rare model was included in the 1999 Jean Royère retrospective at the Musee des Arts décoratifs in Paris. The commode was designed by Jean Royere (1902-1981) and the model first publicly exhibited in the Salon des Artistes Decorateurs in 1959. Three examples are known, all commissioned by Royere from the respected marqueteur Michel Lefèvre. One commode was created in 1958 and the other two were commissioned the following year in expectation of orders from the exhibition that never happened. This example was inherited by the son of Lefèvre and remained with him until 2014. Bibliography: P-E. Martin-Vivier 'Jean Royère' Editions Norma - Paris 2002. One commode illustrated on page 261 'Catalogue de l'exposition Jean Royère Décorateur à Paris', Musée des Arts décoratifs, Editions Norma - Paris 1999. Another commode shown on page 78. Revue du Bois, magazine, April 1958, another commode is illustrated on the cover with the reference: "Our cover photos shows furniture designed by Jean Royere, with marqueterie in wood by Michel Lefevre, in a presentation created for 'Les Papiers Peints de France', on the occasion of the exhibition Arts Menagers 1958." In 1931, aged 29, Jean Royère (1902-1981) resigned from a comfortable position in the import-export trade in order to set up business as an interior designer. He learnt his new trade in the cabinetmaking workshops of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine in Paris. In 1934, he signed the new layout of the Brasserie Carlton on the Champs Elysées and found immediate success. This was the beginning of an international career that was to last until the early 1970s. A key figure of the Avant-garde in the 1950s, Royère tackled all kinds of decoration work and opened branches in the Near East and Latin America. Among his patrons were King Farouk, King Hussein of Jordan, and the Shah of Iran, who were captivated by his freedom of creation and his elegance and entrusted him with the layout of their palaces. Royère pioneered an original style combining bright colors, organic forms and precious materials within a wide range of imaginative accomplishments. In 1980, he left France for the United States, where he lived until his death.

Creator:
Jean Royère (Designer)
Dimensions:
Height: 30.7 in (77.98 cm)Width: 67.9 in (172.47 cm)Depth: 17.7 in (44.96 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Ash,Walnut
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1950-1959
Date of Manufacture:
crica 1950
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: F3E00921stDibs: LU86461230274

Shop All Jean Royère

Jean Royère

World traveler, polyglot and avant-garde visionary Jean Royère (1902–81) is one of the biggest names in French mid-century design. He was fascinated by different materials, such as raffia and zebrawood, and aesthetics from around the world, from Scandinavian modernism to the traditions of the Middle East. Owing to this venturesome spirit, Royère produced an eclectic body of work that truly doesn’t fit a singular style. One light fixture might have organic shapes reminiscent of Art Nouveau, while a table would be crafted with minimalist straw marquetry.

Born in Paris, Royère studied classics at Cambridge University and then worked for an import-export company. In 1931, he switched gears to design, studying cabinetmaking in the workshops of Faubourg Saint-Antoine and furniture making under the tutelage of Pierre Gouffé. He made his debut in interior design in 1934 when he won a design contest for the brasserie in the Hotel Carlton on the Champs-Élysées.

Royère’s most famous piece of furniture was his biomorphic Boule sofa, sometimes playfully called the Ours Polaire, or Polar Bear. Designed for his mother in 1947, the curved sofa with its fuzzy white velvet shocked the French interior design world when it was displayed at the Art et Industrie exhibition, but it proved enduringly popular with customers, such as the Shah of Iran, who purchased several for his daughter. Royère would continue to design furniture and interiors for an elite clientele, including the kings of Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Royère retired in 1972, then moved to the United States in 1980. After he died a year later, his archives were given to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. His works continue to be highly coveted — Kanye West, for instance, once tweeted that the Polar Bear sofa is his favorite piece of furniture. In 2016, Galerie Patrick Seguin in Paris opened a retrospective of his distinctive designs, from the plush 1943 Eléphanteau chair to the 1963 Tour Eiffel table with its elegant metal supports.

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