Carlo Bugatti

Ettore Bugatti collection, Molsheim

(...)

Acquired by Jean-Marie Rossi circa 1973

Fondation Prestige Bugatti, Centenaire Ettore Bugatti 1881-1981, 1981, Paris, for the photograph of our table on the veranda of the Bugatti villa in Molsheim, p. 29

Marc Bascou, Marie-Madeleine Massé et al., Catalogue sommaire illustré des arts décoratifs, Paris, 1988, for the plaster model of an ornament depicting a fish's mouth referenced under n° OAO 366 and for the plaster model of a bronze ornament in the shape of an elephant's head referenced under n° OAO 369, p. 46–47.

Marie-Madeleine Massé, Carlo Bugatti au musée d'Orsay, Paris, 2001, for the plaster model of a bronze in the shape of an elephant's head referenced under n° 11.3, for the plaster model of a bronze ornament in the shape of a fantastical animal's head referenced under n° 11.4, p. 115, and for the plaster model of an ornament depicting a fish's mouth, referenced under n° 11.9 p. 116

A unique piece designed by Carlo Bugatti to showcase the sculptures of his son Rembrandt Bugatti, the table presented here, acquired by Jean-Marie Rossi around 1973, is a major work that has remained out of public view for several decades. Its rediscovery now allows us to fully appreciate its importance in the artist's oeuvre.

Its formal and structural characteristics link it to Bugatti's Parisian period. Settling in Paris in 1904, he moved away from the Orientalism of his early Milanese work in favour of more architectural and solidly constructed forms. The arcades at the base are reminiscent of the architectural and furniture models produced at that time, several examples of which are preserved at the Musée d'Orsay. The sculpted and inlaid decoration, punctuated with stylised flowers and dragonflies, is fully in line with the decorative vocabulary developed by the artist in his furniture and objects made of wood or parchment.

The main original feature of this table lies in the spectacular integration of ornamental zoomorphic bronzes, which transform it into an exceptional piece of ceremonial furniture. Elephant head feet, decorative plaques adorned with stylised fish and corner pieces with bovine heads compose a powerful and enigmatic bestiary. These gilded bronzes were made by the Valsuani foundry, established in Paris since 1908. The plaster models, long kept by the Bugatti family, are now preserved at the Musée d'Orsay. Through their iconography and plastic treatment, these elements constitute a monumental transposition of the bestiary developed by Carlo Bugatti in his goldsmith's work created with Adrien Hébrard during the same period.