Michel DUFET (1888-1985) & LE SYLVE, Art du Bžcheron studio Exceptional modernist desk, ca. 1930 palm, python skin and polished zing. Provenance: Acquired from the Alain Lesieutre Gallery in 1979 by its current owner. Observation: Very likely the only piece of this material, the polished zinc version of this desk was presented at the Salon d'Automne de Paris in 1929. Two copies were then ordered by the Compagnie Royale Asturienne des Mines. After the war, Michel Dufet ordered two more copies, with red-lacquered wood disks. One copy with red surfaces is today part of the collections of the MusŽe dÕArt moderne de la Ville de Paris, and one copy with zinc surfaces is part of the Marcilhac collection and can now be found among the collections of the MusŽe des Beaux-arts de Reims. Our model is higher than the zinc model but does not include the half-cylinder compartment on the writing part, which seems more convenient for private use. This palm-polished zinc-python skin combination can be found in a desk set conserved at the MusŽe d'Art Moderne de Paris and dated ca. 1930. Bibliography: Yvonne BRUNHAMMER, Les styles des annŽes 30 ˆ 50, Ždition Baschet, Paris, 1987, modle en zinc reproduit p. 41, n. 2 Jean SELZ, Hommage ˆ Michel Dufet au MusŽe Bourdelle, 1984, planche 33 pour l'exemplaire aux Žtagres en laque rouge reproduit planche 41 Florence CAMARD, Michel Dufet Architecte DŽcorateur, Ždition de l'Amateur, Paris, 1988, modle en zinc reproduit p. 128 et pages 130 & 131 pour l'exemplaire aux Žtagres en laque rouge Pierre KJELLBERG, Le mobilier du XXeme sicle, dictionnaire des crŽateurs, Žd. de l'Amateur, Paris, 1994, modle en zinc reproduit p. 186 Pierre KJELLBERG, Art DŽco, les ma”tres du mobilier - le dŽcor des paquebots, Žd. de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, modle en zinc reproduit p. 83 Alastair DUNCAN, Mobilier Art DŽco, Žd. Thames & Hudson, Paris, 2000, modle en zinc reproduit p. 63, n. 49 Note: Some parts are made from fragments of Python spp (Pythonidae spp) skin (II/B) pre-convention. A re-export CITES will be necessary for export from the E.U., which must be purchased by the acquirer. H : 107 cm Width : 207 cm Depth : 97 cm