catalog text
STREAMLINE MODERNE CONSOLE TABLE BY DONALD DESKEY
Chromed steel, brass & glass; United States, designed 1927; unmarked
Item # 006YJH04
A well-known design by Donald Deskey that was inspired by the Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann table he saw at the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925, the console table was made in several sizes and with slight variations between them. Some use a formed L-bracket to support the U-shaped flatbar raising the table top while others are devoid of a support device and an earlier form uses metal tubes on either side. A common variation of this table was also produced in nickeled-steel as well as chromed-steel without any brass highlights.
Supporting a glass top is a stacked rim designed with a thinner brass L-shaped bar affixed with machined screws to a thicker brass flat-bar beneath this. The U-shaped supports are affixed with rounded flat-head machined screws and are raised over a pair of hollow square tubular feet stretched with thick polished flatbar.
A variation of this table can be found in New York City's Radio City Music Hall, the interior of which was designed by Deskey. Dramatic and substantial, it works flexibly as a low console table, a somewhat high coffee or cocktail table or as a side table between chairs.
Artist Listings & Further Reading:
- Donald Deskey: Decorative Designs and Interiors, Hanks, p. 40 depicting a similar example
- See Wright, Inc. 18 May 2008 lot 415 for nearly identical table sans brass, achieved $ 9,500 USD (not including buyer's premium)
Measurements: 24" H x 30" D x 54" W
Condition Report:
Tarnish and some spots of loss/pitting to chrome; tarnish to brass edge. Glass in good condition with minor scuffs.