A rare rosewood "Petalas Pau Ferro" coffee table by Jorge Zalszupin for L'Atelier, Brazil, circa 1960
A rare rosewood "Petalas Pau Ferro" coffee table by Jorge Zalszupin for L'Atelier, Brazil, circa 1960
A large and impressive ‘Petalas’ coffee table in very good condition designed by Jorge Zalszupin and manufactured by his own company L’Atelier, Brazil, 1959. The table is formed by eight separate “petals” made out of bent Brazilian Jacaranda rosewood and they are held together by a black metal structure. The Jacaranda wood is famed for its warm colour and a beautiful grain. On the top of the table the cross shaped flames really stand out and make this table unique.
In the Petalas series Zalszupin plays with an organic form inspired by flower petals. The idea works both as a large octagonal table as well as in a smaller one made of only four elements. The restrictive geometric form has been interpreted in a poetic way. Petalas tables are captivating due to their clever construction and sensual shape.
Jorge Zalszupin (1922-2020) was a native of Warsaw, Poland, studied architecture at Bucharest’s Ecole des Beaux Arts. While working as an architect in Paris, he found inspiration in articles about Brazilians Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx and immigrated to Brazil in 1949. There, he founded L’Atelier in 1959, which would become one of the most important furniture companies in Brazil. Pioneering use of plywood and chromed metal became the signature of L’Atelier furniture and enabled him to create sensual and elegant pieces that stand as timeless signatures of the Brazilian modernist movement. More than rationalising design, Zalszupin focused mainly on the acquisition and use of new technologies and materials to make series production viable. This focus on new technologies and materials meant a path to the aesthetic freedom that he desired so much, and the molded laminated rosewood allowed the designer to execute the longed-for curves without necessarily implying the adoption of long and expensive manual processes. The company also had an important role in the introduction on the Brazilian market of injection-molded plastic objects.
Literature: Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos, Jorge Zalszupin, Design Moderno no Brasil, Éditions Olhares, São Paulo 2014
References: Mangiarotti, Space Age, Midcentury Design, Postwar, Sixties, Seventies, 60s, 70s, Verner Panton, Joe Colombo, Pierre Paulin, Tobia Scarpa, Osvaldo Borsani, Eero Saarinen, Eero Aarnio, Alvar Aalto, Alessandro Mendini, Gruppo 55, Artifort, Fritz Hanssen, Gavina, Pierre Chapo, Charlotte Perriand, Le Corbusier
Condition: excellent, please refer to photographs
Dimensions: 118cm diameter, 30cm high
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REFERENCE: A2323