Rare model: R13 sideboard in solid Elm by Pierre Chapo 1950 France Mid-Century

This exquisitely crafted credenza combines a simplified yet complex design combined with nifty, solid construction details that characterize Chapo’s work. The well proportioned doors and drawers are asymmetrical. This is in line with the asymmetric composed drawers, where the bottom drawers are higher than the top drawers. Together, it forms a unified whole. The joints on the corner of this cabinet form both essential technical as well as aesthetic features of this object.

Pierre Chapo (1927-1987) was born in a family of craftsmen and trained as an architect in Paris. After spending many years traveling through south and North America he and his partner Nicole set up Société Chapo, an architectural research consultancy and interior design firm. In 1958 they opened their famous gallery at 14 Boulevard de l’Hopital. Chapo’s work originated by means of special commissions that could later be adapted to universal needs. Chapo was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s balanced lines, Corbusier’s research on proportions and Bauhaus. Societe Chapo was a design workshop and gallery in one where Nicole presented ceramics, textiles and other design by the great designers of the day. The three principles that motivated Pierre Chapo were ‘material, form, and function.’ He measured his furniture by means of golden ratio and used elmwood as his preferred material.

Literature: – Magen, H. Gallery. Pierre Chapo. A Modern Craftsman. New York, 2017, p. 108 and appendix.