Ondulation Coffee Table by Jean Royere

Jean Royère (1902-1981) studied the classics at Cambridge University, and initially worked as a banker before beginning his career as a decorator in 1931 working for a furniture manufacturer in Paris. In 1942, he set up his own office, soon becoming the grand master of decorating in Paris. He received prominent commissions abroad, with a number in the Middle East, such as the residences of King Farouk of Egypt, King Hussein of Jordan, and the Shah of Iran. He worked until retirement 1980, at which point he moved to Pennsylvania.

Royère was both a proponent of the functionality of modernism and the visual harmony that could be achieved through the traditional notion of a repeated decorative motif. He would typically approach the design for an interior by using the same motif throughout the ensemble of furnishings. Far from applying an ornamental flourish, Royère fully integrated these motifs. With this coffee table design, the frame is created using the “Ondulation” pattern itself, in this case rendered in gilded iron. The original glass top features a mirrored edging that playfully creates suspended circles by reflecting the portion of the Ondulation loops exposed above the frame.