FOUJITA Leonard-Tsuguharu

FOUJITA Leonard-Tsuguharu

LEONARD TSUGUHARU FOUJITA (1886-1968)

Extremely rare square wooden coffee table with inlaid design depicting scissors, cigar, pencil, envelope, pipes, a pair of tortoiseshell glasses, a box of matches, a match, a pocket watch, cards and a key.
The inlay of the pair of tortoiseshell glasses is probably inspired by the artist's actual pair, as we see him wearing these glasses in a photo taken by Sabine Weiss in 1954.
The table consists of a marquetry panel mounted on table feet, designed circa 1930 inspired by a drawing by Foujita. It is signed on the lower left portion of the surface.
Most likely made in France.

Literature: S. Buisson, Leonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA: sa vie, son oeuvre, Paris, 2001, vol. II, p. 304, no. 30.119 (illustrated).

Exhibitions:
-A model of this table was exhibited in Paris from June 2004 to September 2004 at the Musée du Montparnasse during an exhibition consecrated to Leonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA and titled "Musée du Montparnasse, FOUJITA, le Maitre de Montparnasse", ( Montparnasse Museum, FOUJITA, the Master of Montparnasse ).
- A model of this table was exhibited in Paris from November 2007 to January 2008 for the 40th anniversary of Leonard Tsuguharu FOUJITA's death, shown in the catalog under the reference number 28.

Museums:
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in the current collection under the Archives Museum number: W.30-1979

A similar table featured in the 2018 exhibition at the Musée Maillol in Paris. Its top featured the same accessories dear to Foujita, including the small round glasses he always wore, cards, pens, a pocket watch, an envelope, a pencil, a compass, a key and two pipes. Like Chinese scholar’s objects, they evoke both the painter and the man: a fashionable Parisian and eminently popular figure with a high public profile, with his thick bangs, glasses, hoop earrings and meticulously selected bespoke clothing. In short, a man of taste highly alive to fashion who naturally embraced the Art Deco movement in 1925, after the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts held in Paris from April to October. He had the interior of his villa in Square de Montsouris designed in this new uncluttered, refined style, which had much in common with Japanese art, including the use of materials like wood, straw and paper. At this time, around 1930, he was approached by the cabinetmaker Jules Leleu to design a table for the smoking room in the first-class section of the ocean liner Le Normandie. The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, through the intermediary of its deputy director Pierre de Malglaive, called on two of the most prominent artists of the time to make their luxury ships genuine showcases of achievements of French art. The first edition of this model in varnished mahogany with inlaid ivory was produced in 1931; others followed, retaining the marquetry design of Foujita's top but with variations in the design of the piece itself—of its base and the choice of wood for the marquetry—to appeal to a varied clientele.

Price : Upon Request

Materials / Techniques: Wood, Inlaid top

Condition: Excellent original condition. Not repaired, not refinished. Some marks on the varnish and on the wood due to the age. Overall, the condition is really excellent due to the fact that we also have a glass protection top.

Measurements: H.19"1/4 x W.28"1/4 x D.28"1/4