Description

Coat rack “Géo Astrolabe” created by Roger Feraud. An iconic piece of French design from the 1950s. Structure in black lacquered metal, 8 perforated spherical brass hooks. Beautiful condition. CIRCA 1950

H: 178, L: 54

Roger Feraud is a French designer known thanks to his coat racks who became mythical symbol of the 1950s design. Contemporary of Jean Royère, they regularly collaborated on joint work.

Jean Royère was born on July 3, 1902 in Paris, of a Breton father and a Lorraine mother; both great travelers and strong artistic culture. He finishes at Cambridge some not very brilliant studies done in various Parisian colleges.
No art education or technical knowledge. He spent five years in Le Havre dealing with export business and began to decorate as an amateur. Then at 29, in 1931, he gave up a brilliant situation to start his career as a decorator. He completed a two-year internship in a furniture factory to learn the craft and in 1933 he built one of the big breweries of the Champs-Élysées.
In 1934, he joined Gouffé, who remained for eight years his publisher and had it exhibited in 34 at the Salon d’Automne and in 35 that of the Artistes Décorateurs. Since then he has continued to participate in all major exhibitions in France and abroad; at the 37 International Exhibition, He had 22 booths. Everywhere he gets the series of the usual rewards. After the war, he was the first French designer to try to found houses of decoration abroad and defend the French renown.
He opened a house in Cairo in 46, in Beirut in 47. He realized in these countries Important official facilities, and private: Consulate of France in Alexandria, Summer residence of the Embassy of France in Lebanon and performs work in most Middle Eastern countries, especially King Saud of Arabia and former King Farouk. Jean Royère is represented by activities in Paris, the provinces, England, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Sweden, South America, U.S.A. and in Finland where he decorated the Legation of France.
The work of Jean Royère is in his image: that of a fantasy. Without any specialized training he became a decorator because the adventure amused him; he wanted this adventure without principles without rules; he has undertaken it with a kind of passion; the bad student became a hard worker who extended his field of action about as far as the plane, which allows not to lose a minute, could lead to it.
But he did not just bring his ideas out of our borders; he recorded the lesson of habits. New techniques, often poorly known in France, have assimilated them and his curiosity always awakened has been enriched by these multiple experiences.
There is a style Jean Royère marked first by the use of the most varied materials: it uses according to the occurrence, while agreeing with the personality and habits of the “customer”: wood, bamboo, cork , lacquered metal, straw and seagrass flowers; he even made furniture in briquettes and stretched ceilings and walls in terry cloth! but this fantasy knows, whatever he says, if it is not laws at least of preferences.
Jean Royère scarcely conceives of isolated pieces of furniture, but first orders the very rhythmic architectural framework, devoid of decorations and where the paintings are rarely planned; he prefers fabrics with vibrant colors and very ornate. The chimney always finds, with amusing solutions, Place in its Rooms and the light fixtures, with the multiple metallic branches stand out, like a curious flora.
The interiors created by Jean Royère are cheerful, young and full of unexpected innovations.
SOURCES: FURNITURE AND DECORATION N ° 2 FROM 1954