SOLD.

Charlotte Perriand À Gorge dining table in solid ash.

Steph Simon edition. Fabricated by André Chetaille.

France c. 1956

Issued by Steph Simon from 1956, each of Charlotte Perriand’s ‘À Gorge’ tables is singular and unique, assembled from carefully selected slabs of wood cured for 10 - 20 years and joined together by spline joints.

To give more impetus to the top of the rectangular table, Perriand hollowed out a ‘gutter’ parallel to the edges on the two long sides. The thickness and profile of the solid tabletop corresponds to the shape and size of the human hand; the angle of the edge and the slightly rounded corners were designed to appeal to the ‘caress factor’, i.e. to soften contact with the body and generate a play of light.

The legs are solid wood with an elliptical cross section, placed closer to the center so that guests seated around the table would not bump their knees on them.

According to Steph Simon, Charlotte Perriand positioned herself in the tradition of peasant furniture, which remained beautiful because it is perfectly simple. However, rather than copying the forms directly as they were, she ‘rationalized’ them. For example, as journalist Colette Gouvion wrote in the magazine ‘L’Expresse’ in 1962, Perriand’s tables are similar to farm tables in that they are solid and without gimmickry. However in the case of farm tables, the height was bad and the crosspieces got in the way. Perriand “not encumbered by abstract theories… does what needs to be done carefully and calmly, like a sculptor creating a statue, like an artist creating a masterpiece….And this is why in the year 2000 - if our world still exists - lovers of antique furniture will buy her creations, explaining that even in the twentieth century, we knew how to make works of furniture that were not poor, soulless objects.”

Pictured in last images: “Dining Tables by Charlotte Perriand” Steph Simon prospectus issued in 1956; Paul Chetaille (André Chetaille’s brother) in front of three slabs of wood to be used for Charlotte Perriand’s wood furniture.

Measurements: 78” length, 32.75” width, 28.5” height, 2.25” thickness of top

Provenance: Private collection, South of France; Piasa

Literature: J. Barsac, Charlotte Perriand, Complete Works 1956-1968, Vol 3, Editions Norma, Paris, 2017. pp 82-92

J. Barsac, "Charlotte Perriand, Un art d'habiter", Editions Norma, Paris, 2005. pp 417 - 436

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