Pierre Legrain (French, 1889-1929). Stool (Tabouret), ca. 1923. Wood, shagreen (likely ray skin), laquer, gilding, 22 × 21 × 12 in. (55.9 × 53.3 × 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, 73.142. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 73.142_threequarter_SL3.jpg)
Pierre Legrain (French, 1889-1929). Stool (Tabouret), ca. 1923. Wood, shagreen (likely ray skin), laquer, gilding, 22 × 21 × 12 in. (55.9 × 53.3 × 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, 73.142. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 73.142_bw_SL3.jpg)
Stool (Tabouret)
Decorative Arts
On View: Decorative Art, 20th-Century Decorative Arts, 4th Floor
By the time Pierre Legrain designed this stool in the 1920s, the idea of seating furniture as a status symbol had been replaced by the idea that comfort was paramount. In making a stool whose luxury and beauty surpassed its usefulness, Legrain looked back to older ways of thinking. His use of an African model, however, was new and reflected a growing fascination with the arts of Africa among sophisticated Europeans in the 1920s.
By turning a traditionally simple African form into a luxury object made of lacquered wood and covered with expensive sharkskin, Legrain reflected the cultural imperialism of his time, when Western artists and designers raided the artistic heritage of the world and remade objects from other cultures to accommodate consumers’ taste.
By turning a traditionally simple African form into a luxury object made of lacquered wood and covered with expensive sharkskin, Legrain reflected the cultural imperialism of his time, when Western artists and designers raided the artistic heritage of the world and remade objects from other cultures to accommodate consumers’ taste.
MEDIUM
Wood, shagreen (likely ray skin), laquer, gilding
DATES
ca. 1923
DIMENSIONS
22 × 21 × 12 in. (55.9 × 53.3 × 30.5 cm) (show scale)
MARKINGS
no marks
SIGNATURE
no signature
INSCRIPTIONS
no inscriptions
COLLECTIONS
Decorative Arts
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in Decorative Art, 20th-Century Decorative Arts, 4th Floor
ACCESSION NUMBER
73.142
CREDIT LINE
Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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CAPTION
Pierre Legrain (French, 1889-1929). Stool (Tabouret), ca. 1923. Wood, shagreen (likely ray skin), laquer, gilding, 22 × 21 × 12 in. (55.9 × 53.3 × 30.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by an anonymous donor, 73.142. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 73.142_threequarter_SL3.jpg)
IMAGE
threequarter, 73.142_threequarter_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Stool (tabouret), black lacquer and sharkskin over wood. U-shaped seat covered with sharkskin, supported by four polygonal columns lacquered black and a center column covered in sharkskin. Center column is narrow at center and flares toward top and bottom and rests on a flat square base covered with gold leaf. The outer lacquered columns are polygonal each with a flange beneath the seat. Rectangular base, tri-stepped on front and back and slopping at either end. Middle step covered with gold leaf base otherwise covered with black lacquer.
CONDITION - Good. All edges of parchment are worn.
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