Acquired in Casablanca, Morocco by the present owner, 2014
Literature
Patrick Favardin, Mathieu Matégot, Paris, 2014, p. 251 for a similar example
Catalogue Essay
Phillips wishes to thank Patrice Matégot and Xavier Matégot for their assistance cataloguing the present lot.
The present free-standing bar by Hungarian-born designer Mathieu Matégot is an eclectic example of his expert ability to work with a range of mediums. He started his career as a set-designer in Budapest before moving to Paris in 1931, where he continued to work until his death in 2001. Many of the furniture pieces he designed from his Paris and Casablanca workshops in the 1950s reveal his knowledge of the properties of fabric and his skills in tapestry, a discipline which he had initially explored and would later return to. In post-war France, where the scarcity of raw materials led designers to be more experimental with their choices of mediums, Mategot’s imaginative creations stood out thanks to his innovative treatment of metal, glass, rattan and more. For metal, Matégot patented a technique of combining perforated sheet metal with metal tubing called rigitulle. This new material he devised envelops the present bar and is seemingly delicate yet durable. Crucially, it was also malleable and allowed him to create effects of transparency and lightness to his pieces. From playful curves to daring punctures, his manipulations of mediums gave his works an appealing tactility.