LE MONDE

Le Monde is a genuine tour-de-force of high craftsmanship that took 400 hours of marquetry (metal, wood, mother of pearl) and 50 hours of gilding. Unique piece presented during Paris Design Week in 2021 at the Orangerie of the Hôtel de Sully, Gonalons here has brought his talent to bear at every level, proposing an exceptional piece on the theme of the four seasons, realised entirely in marquetry and drawing on the great know-how of Craman-Lagarde, in line with the royal commissions of Louis XIV. Five chests made of different kinds of wood and metal, with inlays of mother of pearl, appear to be simply stacked on top of one another like blocks of a puzzle, evoking successively earth, vegetation, air, sun, ether, cosmos... On the base, the growth rings of trees are turned into decorative patterns, while allusions to the polychromy of mediaeval paintings can be found in the stylized stars at the top. A masterwork that happily marries high craftsmanship and great refinement of design.