Sanded Carolina pine, lacquered top, handles in Corian
cm. 100 x 48 x h. 88,5
Eileen Gray
Experimentation and research into new kinds of furnishing with particular forms, highlighted by the use of precious materials and sophisticated workmanship, are the features which always distinguish Eileen Gray's design philosophy.
The chest of drawers is part of the unique pieces collection exhibited in her Jean Désert Gallery and is included in her production of original furniture created in her cabinet-making, lacquering and carpet-working atelier, where production was entrusted to a team of expert craftspeople including Inagaki, a Japanese craftsman specialising in working with lacquer and ivory.
The furniture produced from 1914 to 1930 illustrates how her eclectic imagination was influenced by figurative avant-gardes, by Oriental art and the primitive forms of African art and, in her more mature phase, by the rationalistic and functionalistic use of "new" materials.
With its simple, restrained and elegant form, the chest of drawers is enhanced by the skilful matching of noble materials or treated with particular finishing techniques; the handles, in ivory in the original, and the lacquered top contrast with the unbroken, rustic pattern of the marked veining of the pine wood, accentuated by the acid- and sanding-treatment in two directions (vertical for the base and horizontal on the drawers and the slim structural elements).
For
further information contact: Italian Trade Commission - Atlanta Office
- 233 Peachtree Street N.E. Suite 2301 Atlanta, GA 30303 USA