1950s sideboard signed Raphaël

Beautiful design and beautiful manufacture for this important row whose facade opens with 4 doors and a showcase, the furniture is signed by Raphaël. The cabinetwork is of a high standard and conforms to the principles of this designer who has always favored unique pieces and avoided mass production. Contrasts and dynamics are obtained by the horizontal grooves on the blond wood of the doors. The sheathed feet are finished with a brass shoe.

Raphaël Raffel (1912-2000) known as Raphaël is a French interior designer and architect. He set up as a decorator in 1934, after studying at the Beaux-Arts, and an apprenticeship at Maison Jansen Paris. From his drawings come creations characterized by lightness with a Scandinavian inspiration, using quality materials: selected wood veneer, lacquer in deep and cloudy tones, glass and metal. He responds to private orders, and refuses mass production, his pieces will often be made individually and stamped with his brand on a metal plate. After having participated in the decoration of ocean liners, he evolved in parallel towards major administrative development projects with public and State commissions, in particular for the Post Office, university residences, the town hall of Paris and the National Assembly. To complete these arrangements, he collaborated with René Fumeron for textiles, Georges Jouve for ceramics, and incorporated the so-called Béka lacquer developed and patented in 1948 by Paul-Etienne Saïn and Henri Tambuté. He participated in numerous exhibitions, notably at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs (SAD) from 1955 and at the Universal Exhibition in Brussels in 1958. He is recognized as being one of the great French decorators of the 20th century. A fine selection of his creations are present in the collections of the Mobilier National, part of which was recently staged during the exhibition "Le Chic! Decorative arts and French furniture 1930-1960".