350 - Louis Süe (French, 1875–1968)

Louis Süe (French, 1875–1968) & André Mare (French, 1885–1932) Sideboard, c. 1919–1925 Veneered on all sides with burl walnut and rosewood. It opens with two hinged doors on the front and two drawers. The interior features three drawers flanked on either side by three levels of shelves. It rests on four octagonal legs topped with glide feet. Gilded bronze elements by Paul Vera for the pull handles and locks. Portor marble top with a composite molding. H 172 W 127 D 54 cm. Small chips in the marble, minor imperfections in the veneer, and the lower right panel needs to be reattached. Bibliography: -"Art et Décoration," No. 12, December 1919, model reproduced on p. 31 - Pierre Kjellberg, “Le mobilier du XXe siècle,” Editions de l’amateur, Paris, 1994, p. 632. Related works: - A cabinet of the same model with three interior shelves was exhibited at the 1919 Salon d’Automne, then featured in the exhibition “Louis Süe & André Mare, le Style 1925" at the Galerie Jacques Lacoste from November 20, 2025, to January 24, 2026; - another cabinet of the same model was presented at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs; - a sideboard featuring similar craftsmanship, commissioned for Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Girod, is now housed at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris under inventory number 45235. Süe and Mare, Art Deco Interior Designers Described by Jean Bavocini as “an admirable partnership of two minds who combined the best of their qualities to serve beauty,” the duo of Louis Süe and André Mare was one of the most prolific creative teams of the Art Deco period. Süe and Mare met at the end of World War I and received prestigious commissions, such as the cenotaph at the Arc de Triomphe, which led them to found the Compagnie des Arts Français in 1919. Their prolific and luxurious furniture designs triumphed in 1925 at the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs. Drawing inspiration from the great styles—and in particular the Louis-Philippe style, which they considered the last of the great French styles—their furniture sought to reinterpret these traditions while introducing modernity through collaborations with young artists such as Paul Véra, Charles Dufresne, Gustave-Louis Jaulmes, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, and Richard Desvallières. Free to create individually, these artists put their skills and talents to work for this joint venture. An exceptional piece of furniture blending tradition and modernity Our piece follows this trend with the use of rosewood and burl walnut, paired with Portor marble with a rounded edge. These luxurious materials evoke the golden age of French cabinetmaking, particularly the Empire and Restoration periods. The marquetry decoration, which uses only the grain of the veneer to create geometric star and rosette motifs, draws on the same inspirations. However, the bronze fittings—based on designs by Paul Véra—give this piece a modern feel, as do the enveloping, powerful, and Baroque forms of the ornamentation, featuring stylized palm leaves and drapery friezes. This console table is one of the key works in the output of these two interior designers. Similar pieces were presented at the 1919 and 1925 exhibitions, continuing the long tradition of one-of-a-kind furniture crafted for a prestigious clientele. While it cannot be formally identified as having been part of either of those exhibitions, our example is, at the very least, the result of a special commission from that period. Nicolas Clery