Jean Dunand's game table

Jean Dunand, a famous decorative artist of the 1920s-1930s, is an emblematic figure of Art Deco. Trained by the Japanese lacquer master Seizo Sugawara, his techniques, such as cast inlay and lacquer on metal, made him famous from 1912 onwards.
Among his emblematic works is this spectacular and prestigious games table, accompanied by four folding armchairs, commissioned by the fashion designer Madeleine Vionnet. This piece was intended for the library of her Parisian apartment.

Dating from 1929-1930, this black lacquered wood table has a checkerboard top made of eggshell in its center. It also has four retractable metal corner shelves. Its square section corner base opens with a drawer and surmounts a door revealing an interior in sycamore with a shelf, with a tubular nickel-plated metal frame. By imposing itself by its monumentality, this object is characteristic of the aesthetics of the applied arts of the years 1920-1930 inherited from the Viennese Secession thanks to the simplicity of its forms, the care given to the details and the accuracy of its proportions.
This game table is presented in several days depending on the placement of the chairs. When the chairs are put away, it appears as a gigantic cube making it a decorative object in its own right. Each chair has, in fact, the particularity of seeing its back and its seat can be embedded in the table.
This prestigious lot went on sale at Artcurial on June 12, 2012.