Low rectangular “Sphère” table by Jean Royère

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Jean Royère (1902-1981)
“Sphère” low round table
Disk top on “sphere” legs with disk feet
Gilded iron, travertine
Original marble and gilding
France, 1950s
Dimensions:
13.75 in. (35 cm) H
35 in. (91 cm) D

Jean Royère (1902-1981) studied the classics at Cambridge University, and initially worked as a banker before beginning his career as a decorator in 1931 working for a furniture manufacturer in Paris. In 1942, he set up his own office, soon becoming the grand master of decorating in Paris. He received prominent commissions abroad, with a number in the Middle East, such as the residences of King Farouk of Egypt, King Hussein of Jordan, and the Shah of Iran. He worked until retirement 1980, at which point he moved to Pennsylvania.

His elegant and lyrical sense of Modern design included intrinsic ornamentation using his own very personal vocabulary of recurring motifs. The “Sphère” was composed of intersecting circles to form a globe with meridians bound by another loop set at a diagonal. Royère based the motif on 16th century astrolabes and armillary spheres, imbuing pieces like this table with a wistful sense of exploration and adventure.

Literature:
Galerie Jacques Lacoste/Galerie Patrick Seguin, Jean Royère, Paris, 2012,
v. 1, pgs. 78, 160, v. 2, pg. 60, 174-175
Pierre-Emmanuel Martin-Vivier, Jean Royère, Paris, 2002, pgs. 233, 238
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Jean Royère: décorateur à Paris, Paris, 1999, pgs. 40, 123, 163
“La Légation de France à Helsinki,” Le Décor d’aujourd’hui, no. 67, 1951,
n.p for similar model designed for the French Legation building in Helsinki
R. Moutard-Uldry, “Jean Royère et la Passion des Voyages,” Mobilier et Décoration,
September-October 1954, n.p. for a comparable model

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