Large Jacaranda ‘Petalas’ Coffee Table by Jorge Zalszupin

Large impressive ‘Petalas’ Coffee Table in very good condition.

Designed by Jorge Zalszupin.

Manufactured by his own company L’Atelier, Brazil, 1959.

The table is formed by eight separate petals of Brazilian Jacaranda Rosewood and they are held together by a black metal structure.

The Jacaranda wood has a warm colour and a beautiful grain. On the top of the table the cross shaped flames really stand out and make this table unique.

In the Petalas series Zalszupin plays with an organic form inspired by flower petals. The idea works both as a large octagonal table as well as in a smaller one made of only four elements. The restrictive geometric form has been interpreted in a poetic way. Petalas tables are captivating due to their clever construction and sensual shape.

Jorge Zalszupin a native of Warsaw, Poland, studied architecture at Bucharest’s Ecole des Beaux Arts. While working as an architect in Paris, he found inspiration in articles about Brazilians Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx and immigrated to Brazil in 1949. There, he founded L’Atelier in 1959, which would become one of the most important furniture companies in Brazil. Pioneering use of plywood and chromed metal became the signature of L’Atelier furniture and enabled him to create sensual and elegant pieces that stand as timeless signatures of the Brazilian modernist movement. The company also had an important role in the introduction on the Brazilian market of injection-molded plastic objects.

Literature: Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos, Jorge Zalszupin, Design Moderno no Brasil, Éditions Olhares, São Paulo 2014