Paul Dupré-Lafon

Private Collection, Greece

Tajan Paris, November 26, 2002, lot 118

Claude and Simone Dray, Paris

Christie's Paris, Collection Claude et Simone Dray - Art Déco, June 8, 2006, lot 289

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Charles Ensembles Mobiliers, Vol. 6, 1945, pp. 13-14

Gaston Diehl, "Ensembles de Paul Dupré-Lafon," Art et Décoration, 1946, p. 170

Thierry Couvrat Desvergnes, Paul Dupré-Lafon: Décorateur des Millionnaires, Paris, 1990, pp. 72, 171 (for a model with a variant tabletop), 175

Alastair Duncan, Art Deco Complete, London, 2009, p. 40 (for the model with a variant tabletop)

Designed circa 1950, Paul Dupré-Lafon’s Mappemonde table stands as a masterwork of mid-century French design—at once a symbol of functional refinement and conceptual depth. Created by an architect and designer widely known as the “interior architect of the elite,” this extraordinary work embodies the ideals that defined Dupré-Lafon’s oeuvre: clarity of line, restraint in ornamentation, and a reverence for noble materials. It also reveals a philosophical dimension rare in furniture design, transforming the everyday object into a meditation on the modern world.

At its center lies a delicately inlaid globe—mappemonde in French—set into the oak tabletop with precision and grace. This cartographic motif is far more than decorative. It serves as a powerful symbol of global vision, evoking themes of travel, knowledge, and interconnectedness—core cultural ideals of the interwar and postwar periods. In this way, Dupré-Lafon elevates the table into a conceptual object: a sculptural reflection on humanity’s place in the world. 

Only two examples of the Mappemonde table are known to exist, underscoring its rarity and historical significance. The present example boasts impeccable provenance, having once formed part of the legendary collection of Claude and Simone Dray. The Drays were among the most prominent private collectors of Art Deco and modernist design in the 20th century, celebrated for their exceptional eye and impeccable taste. Their inclusion of the Mappemonde table within their collection is a powerful testament to its importance as a masterpiece of French decorative art.

Dupré-Lafon’s design practice was as distinctive as his aesthetic. Unlike contemporaries such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann or Jean-Michel Frank, he never founded a formal workshop, boutique, or brand under his own name. Rather, he worked privately from home, surrounded by a small and loyal team of cabinetmakers and collaborators. He avoided salons and exhibitions, preferring to work by commission for an exclusive clientele—industrialists, financiers, and collectors—who sought the discreet elegance his work embodied. His clients were introduced through existing patrons or personal reputation, and every design was credited directly to him, a reflection of his insistence on artistic control and authorship.

His affinity for natural, noble materials—raw stones, lightly polished woods, and fine metals—was not merely an aesthetic choice but a deeply held philosophy. As Michel Dufet once wrote of Dupré-Lafon’s early commissions, including his seminal work on the rue Rembrandt apartment in Paris: “Dupré-Lafon understood the profound essence of luxury. No ornamentation besides what is absolutely needed. All of his furniture pieces are imbued with a lucid serenity that commands respect.” The Mappemonde table extends that philosophy further still, incorporating the Earth itself—a representation of all noble materials—as its central visual and conceptual theme.

The present offering is an opportunity to acquire one of the most important and singular creations by Paul Dupré-Lafon—a piece that synthesizes symbolism with a uniquely intellectual approach to modern elegance.