Jean Prouvé

This important table, known as the “S.A.M.” no. 506, comes from a small series produced specifically for Air France Congo in 1952. Here, the steel frame with a metal traverse supports the solid wood top in well-preserved, original condition, with the legs screwed directly into the underside. Prouvé’s involvement in Africa in the late 1940s and early 1950s revolved around the construction of several prefabricated buildings, with parts coming directly from his atelier in Nancy. A prototype house in Niamey and two small business offices in Brazzaville preceded his largest undertaking, the headquarters and “unités d’habitations” for Air France personnel stationed in the Congolese capital. The interior design, which Charlotte Perriand oversaw, comprised as many as sixty-three rooms of six different types and sizes and furnished with pieces produced by Jean Prouvé, including the present table—a rare variant of an earlier table model designed circa 1945. Its unique proportions, stellar provenance and the superb combination of solid Sipo mahogany and lacquered metal contribute to making the present lot an exceptionally rare and desirable work by the French architect and designer.