HENRY VAN DE VELDE
| About the artist | Antwerp 1863 – 1957 Zurich |
| Designed by | Henry van de Velde attr., around 1898 |
| Dimensions | H 80 cm, W 250 cm, D 140 cm Playing surface: 220 x 110 cm |
| Material | Mahogany solid, carved, polished, mother-of-pearl inlays, slate (top), green billiard cloth and reddish-brown ball pockets renewed, very beautiful original condition |
| Provenance | Belgian private property, art trade Brussels, German private property |
The decorative motif used for this table was also used on his famous “Secession desk" for Ludwig Loeffler, created in 1898 (model 1896; Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg), and on a number of small pieces of furniture, such as a side cabinet from 1897 (Klassik Stiftung Weimar), a graphics cabinet from 1899 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg) and the utensils cabinet for his painter friend Curt Herrmann (1900; private property). All of these pieces of furniture reflect van de Velde's organic approach to material, form and surface: in a programmatic departure from Historicism, the ornament is no longer an applied decoration, but rather a plastic-sculptural moment that shapes both functional and decorative objects.
M02/20