Dressing Table and Seat
Cubist dressing table and matching seat covered in a Duco lacquer in a range of shades of brown. It rests on two trapezoidal feet that themselves form compartments with three drawers each. Two other small drawers are included in the top, the centre of which opens upward to reveal a lighted mirror. The inner and outer sides of the feet are decorated with a geometric pattern that recalls the structured shapes of the piece to create a symmetry of form and ornament. The small bench covered in pony skin with reversed armrests is has a similar lacquer to match the dressing table. The belt and the armrests are made of graphic mouldings that match the pure lines of the four octagonal feet.
Stamped: Pomone
Circa: 1926
Dimensions :
Dressing table: Height: 27 ½ in. Width: 56 ¾ in. Depth: 22 ½ in.
Seat: Height: 24 in. Width: 26 in. Depth: 17 in.
Exhibitions:
‘1925, quand l’Art Déco séduit le monde’, Paris, Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, 16 oct. 2013 – 17 fébr. 2014
‘Art Deco’, Madrid, Fundación Juan March, 20 march – 28 june 2015
Provenance : Director of the Bon Marché – 1926
Remarks :
These pieces were part of a complete set, comprising a bedroom, which was created by Pomone and exhibited at the 1926 Salon d’Automne. Paul Follot, head of his own decorating company since 1904, worked initially for the wealthy elite. But after the First World War, clear changes in society were at work and the number of workshops run by France’s major department stores was on the rise. In 1923 Follot was appointed director of Pomone, the workshop connected with the Bon Marché department store. From then on he had to design more affordable pieces while maintaining the quality and elegance that had made his reputation. Follot brilliantly rose to this dual challenge, as witnessed by the success of the Pomone Pavilion during the 1925 Expo. This special commission for the director of Bon Marché, a portion of which was featured in Art et Décoration in December 1926, is also a fine example of this success.
Bibliography:
Art et décoration, december 1926, p. 181
Art Deco, Cat. Exp., Madrid, Fundación Juan March, 2015, cat. n° 162 p. 341
Léopold Diego Sanchez, Paul Follot. Un artiste décorateur parisien, AAM Éditions, 2020, repr. p. 234.
