Fresh Finds + New Site: Part 2: Maison Desny, Jean Boris-Lacroix, Andre Lamont + more

Part 2 of Fresh Finds, the newest additions to the Modern Love gallery:






An interesting organic modernist table lamp attributed to Jean Boris-Lacroix, featuring a perforated shade and a compass-shaped base of tapered brass legs. This clever design converts to a wall lamp by virtue of a brass loop for hanging.

REFERENCE: See Lot 27 Tajan, Paris, May 15, 2012 for a nearly identical example ascribed to Borix-Lacroix.







A credenza by Ste. Marie + Laurent. Combining fine craftsmanship with exotic hardwoods, this relatively obscure Montreal-based studio produced some of the foremost modernist furniture of the period. This example of designer Andre Laurent's credenza is sheathed in an exceptionally pronounced Brazilian Rosewood veneer. The unit's floating visual effect is achieved through a cantilevered base of mirror-polished chrome.






Named for the contraction of the founders names, M. Desnet and Rene Nauny, La Maison Desny operated on the Champs-Elysees from 1927 until the untimely death of Desnet in 1933. Influenced by Cubism and Modernism, Maison Desny is characterized by radically juxtaposed geometric forms. Though relatively little is known about this short-lived firm, its output is reknowned as some of the finest works of the period, and definitive of French Art Deco.  This rare serving tray features a reverse-painted glass panel over mirror, and would benefit from some restoration.

LITERATURE: A similar model is illustrated in The Art Deco Style, Theodore Metten, pg.140.






A rare Japanese modernist bowl, featuring an unusual form with a raised center. The hand-painted artwork is superb in detail and execution, and appears to have been influenced by the work of Stig Lindberg, who designed graphic wrapping paper for the Japanese department store Seibu during the late 1950s.


All via the new Modern Love.  Don't forget to check out Part 1 of this update, featuring pieces by Warren Platner, Carl Aubock, and Charles + Ray Eames.