Jacques Dumond

Jacques Dumond
Low Table, 1961
Aluminum, polished steel, glass
15.83 H x 59.06 x 17.72 inches
40.2 H x 150 x 45 cm

Provenance:
Salon Saint-Tropez, SS France, 1961

Literature:
Bouchet Mazas, Armelle. Le Paquebot France. Paris, Editions Norma, 2006, pp. 87, 90. Print.

In 1961, Jacques Dumond and Philippe Leloup were commissioned to design the interior and furniture for the largest room of the new SS France – the “Salon Saint-Tropez” tourist class lounge.  The Low Table that we are presenting was one of around 10 such models designed for this room. It is constructed of aluminum, polished steel and glass, and is one of the few commissioned pieces to survive the various renovations of the SS France (1960), an iconic ship that was the longest passenger vessel in the world until 2004.

Dumond was among the first to design furniture using aluminum in the 1950s. This material was ideal for the SS France ocean liner, which required that all furnishings be fireproof and non-flammable. Its light weight, as compared to steel, helped to keep the overall weight of the decorative materials down to 500 tons for the entire ship. This included the chairs, sofas and other coffee table models that Dumond and Leloup designed for the Salon Saint-Tropez.

A designer and innovator at the forefront of promoting new materials and techniques, Jacques Dumond influenced a new generation of designers through his roles as teacher, employer, and vice president of the Societé des Artistes Décorateurs.

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