Provenance
Apartment building, 7, rue Méchain, Paris
Galerie Doria, Paris
Acquired from the above by the present owner, 2005
Literature
Dominique Deshoulières, et al., Rob Mallet-Stevens: Architecte, Brussels, 1980, illustrated p. 299
Catalogue Essay
Phillips would like to thank Stéphane Boudin-Lestienne, historian and curator, Centre d'art villa Noailles, Hyères, for his assistance cataloguing the present lot.

On the heels of constructing his series of private villas on rue Mallet-Stevens, in 1929 Robert Mallet-Stevens designed a different sort of housing complex – a nine story apartment building on the rue Méchain in Paris. For this masterpiece, which still stands, the architect incorporated the work of exceptional artisans, including an entrance door by Jean Prouvé and modernist stained glass by Barillet et associés. Upon entering the building, visitors encounter an impressive white spiral staircase, the curve of the balustrade highlighted by black mosaic tiles from Emaux de Briares.

Among the residents of the fourteen apartments lived the Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka, whose studio was well documented in a Mobilier et Décoration article from January 1931. The article’s author, G. Rémon, described the space as a “climat d’idées,” and indeed interior views show that Madame de Lempicka lived in an environment unified by Mallet-Stevens’s vision, yet filled with the voices of other cutting-edge modernist talents such as René Herbst, Djo-Bourgeois, and her sister Adrienne Gorska.

One from the pair of present armchairs is documented in a period photograph of another apartment in this building. As in Tamara de Lempicka’s residence, the armchair is shown surrounded by other furniture designed by Mallet-Stevens, mostly built-in units, but also designs by others, such as the Eileen Gray table to the chair’s left. It was typical for Mallet-Stevens to mix his own designs with those of others; in his own home he lived with Marcel Breuer chairs, a Pierre Chareau desk, and carpets designed by Fernand Léger. However he orchestrated his interiors rigorously; in the tradition of the Wiener Werkstatte gesamtkunstwerk, every item served the unified scheme of the room.

While the present armchair design resembles similar, documented pieces by Djo-Bourgeois, as well as Boivenet’s armchairs for Primavera, there are a number of key elements that distinguish this piece as the work of Mallet-Stevens. First, this armchair has only ever appeared in the rue Méchain period photograph, in keeping with the fact that Mallet-Stevens primarily designed custom, site-specific furniture of very limited production, never repeating himself. Second, as demonstrated by Stéphane Boudin-Lestienne in the exhibition catalogue Rob Mallet-Stevens (Brussels, 2016), Mallet-Stevens would often borrow ideas from other designers, yet build on them, sometimes taking construction risks in the form of cantilevers and thin structures. To this end, the present armchairs appear to have a floating seat and back, lacking rear vertical supports and instead resting on their armrests, which wrap around the back, not unlike the armchairs he designed for the master bedroom of the Villa Cavrois (1932) and the Marcel Breuer side chairs from his own home. While Mallet-Stevens may have been inspired by the Primavera chair, he took the design a leap further, lending a sense of frisson and movement with his dynamic positioning of the seat and backrest within the frame.

Property from an Important Collection

422

Robert Mallet-Stevens

Pair of armchairs from the apartment building at 7, rue Méchain, Paris

circa 1929
Chromium-plated steel, painted wood, fabric.
Each: 28 x 27 x 33 1/2 in. (71.1 x 68.6 x 85.1 cm)

Estimate
$80,000 - 120,000

Sold for $121,250

Contact Specialist
Cordelia Lembo
Specialist, Head of Sale
+1 212 940 1265

Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 13 December 2016

401
Carlo Scarpa
Rare ceiling light, model no. 5283
Estimate $25,000 - 30,000
Sold for $37,500
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402
Gio Ponti
Prototype teapot
Estimate $10,000 - 15,000
Sold for $70,000
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403
Gio Ponti
Unique tiered coffee table
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $60,000
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404
Lucie Rie
Flaring footed bowl
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $212,500
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405
Gino Sarfatti
Early ceiling light, model no. S 00106
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $175,000
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406
Jean Royère
Pair of "Ours Polaire" armchairs
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $370,000
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407
Jean Royère
"Ours Polaire" sofa
Estimate $300,000 - 400,000
Sold for $358,000
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408
Diego Giacometti
“Guéridon-arbre au hibou”
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $370,000
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409
Georges Jouve
Table lamp
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $37,500
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410
Isamu Noguchi
Prototype chair, for William A.M. Burden, Northeast Harbor, Maine
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
Sold for $225,000
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411
Charlotte Perriand
Rare low table
Estimate $50,000 - 70,000
Sold for $125,000
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412
Serge Mouille
Three-armed floor lamp, for the Compagnie Des Arts Français
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $106,250
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413
Poul Kjærholm
Rare daybed, model no. PK 80A
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
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414
Harry Bertoia
Sunburst sculpture
Estimate $25,000 - 35,000
Sold for $68,750
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415
George Nakashima
Rare coffee table with special early variant Minguren base
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
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416
Lucie Rie
Unique footed bowl
Estimate $60,000 - 90,000
Sold for $200,000
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417
Eugène Printz
Adjustable three-part bibliothèque
Estimate $30,000 - 40,000
Sold for $81,250
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418
Eugène Printz
Desk
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $212,500
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419
René Lalique
"Serpent" vase, Marcilhac no. 896
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $37,500
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420
Kaare Klint and Edvard Kindt-Larsen
Pair of "Mix" easy chairs, model no. 4396
Estimate $70,000 - 90,000
Sold for $87,500
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421
Alberto Giacometti
Rare "Ecossaise" table lamp
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $193,750
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422
Robert Mallet-Stevens
Pair of armchairs from the apartment building at 7, rue Méchain, Paris
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $121,250
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423
Jean Royère
Armchair designed for the Salon de repos du Pavillon de la céramique, L'Exposition Internationale, Paris
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
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424
Carlo Mollino
Unique pair of lounge chairs, from the living room of the Ada and Cesare Minola House, Turin
Estimate $200,000 - 300,000
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425
Carlo Mollino
Unique "specchio-armadio" and adjustable wall light, from the bedroom of the Ada and Cesare Minola House, Turin
Estimate $250,000 - 300,000
Sold for $298,000
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426
Shiro Kuramata
Rare side chair, from the Livina Yamagiwa showroom, Tokyo
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000
Sold for $68,750
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427
Gio Ponti
Rare side table
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $150,000
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428
Eileen Gray
Unique "Brick" screen
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $478,000
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429
Marcel Coard
Important drinks cabinet
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $87,500
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430
Diego Giacometti
Two “Tabourets en X," troisième version
Estimate $150,000 - 200,000
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431
Eugène Printz and Jean Dunand
Important sideboard
Estimate $400,000 - 500,000
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432
Alberto Giacometti
"Feuille" floor lamp
Estimate $140,000 - 160,000
Sold for $175,000
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433
Jean-Michel Frank
Important pair of side chairs, from the Jean-Pierre Guerlain apartment, Paris
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $47,500
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434
Gio Ponti
Chest of drawers, designed for Nordiska Kompaniet
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $112,500
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435
Gio Ponti
"Wall dashboard," designed for Nordiska Kompaniet
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
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436
Gio Ponti
"Bedside dashboard," designed for Nordiska Kompaniet
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
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437
Karl Hansen Reistrup and Herman August Kähler
Unique vase
Estimate $10,000 - 15,000
Sold for $12,500
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438
Jean Royère
Rare wingback armchair
Estimate $100,000 - 150,000
Sold for $250,000
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439
Jean Royère
“Ski” floor lamp
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
Sold for $118,750
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440
Pierre Jeanneret
Cabinet, from the Henri Ingber Residence, Paris
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $237,500
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441
Jean Royère
"Yo-yo" coffee table
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
Sold for $175,000
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442
Roberto Gabetti and Aimaro Isola
Rare pair of side chairs, from the Stock Exchange building, Turin
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $30,000
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443
Isamu Noguchi
"Rudder" dinette table, model IN-20
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
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444
Josef Hoffmann
Set of four stools
Estimate $40,000 - 60,000
Sold for $56,250
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445
Marcel Coard
Chest of drawers
Estimate $80,000 - 120,000
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446
Theodor Bogler
Important teapot
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000
Sold for $21,250
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447
Gio Ponti
Rare and early pair of wall lights, from Palazzo Montecatini, Milan
Estimate $18,000 - 22,000
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Design Evening Sale

New York Auction 13 December 2016

Create your first list.

Provenance

Literature

Catalogue Essay

422

Robert Mallet-Stevens

Pair of armchairs from the apartment building at 7, rue Méchain, Paris

Design Evening Sale

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