Though the fame of the sculptor and painter Meret Oppenheim stems mainly from a single work of art, that one was a doozy. Known as Object, the enduringly disconcerting fur-covered teacup, saucer and spoon that Oppenheim created in 1936 remains the one of the most notorious works to spawn from the Surrealist art movement.
Born in Germany and raised in Basel, Switzerland, Oppenheim was encouraged to pursue art by her maternal grandmother, a writer and illustrator. Oppenheim moved to Paris to attend art school in 1932. There, she met the sculptor (and fellow Swiss native) Alberto Giacometti, who introduced her to Man Ray, Max Ernst and André Breton, the founder of the Surrealist movement. Within a year, Oppenheim was exhibiting her paintings with the Surrealists, the first female artist to do so.
Object, the story goes, was born of a lunchtime chat that Oppenheim had with Pablo Picasso and his muse, artist Dora Maar, one afternoon in 1936. The Spanish-born artist admired an unusual fur-lined bracelet that Oppenheim wore, and she replied that anything could be covered fur, “even this cup and saucer!” Her imagination fired, Oppenheim bought some china and a swatch of Chinese gazelle fur. When it was exhibited in New York, Object was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art — the first work of art by a woman acquired by the institution.
Another Oppenheim piece has become an icon of the art-as-design genre, a category that has currency among art collectors: the Traccia table, a side table with a gold- or silver-leafed wooden top, incised with the shapes of two bird-claw impressions, and a cast-bronze base in the form of stork legs. The Traccia — from the Italian for “track,” as in animal track — was created for the 1939 opening of art dealer Leo Castelli’s first gallery, on the Place Vendôme in Paris. The maker Simon International began producing versions of the Traccia in 1970, and the piece is now made by Cassina. Examples are typically priced between $6,300 and $8,500, depending on condition. As striking and amusing today as when it first appeared, the Traccia is an always-suave addition to a modern art and design collection and a tribute to the humor and ingenuity of a groundbreaking 20th-century artist.
Find original Meret Oppenheim art and furniture on 1stDibs.
Mathieu Mategot, Domino Tables, by Les Ateliers Mategot, France 1950s
By Mathieu Matégot
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Mathieu Matégot Pair of Domino Tables, design 1953 one yellow, one black lacquered perforated steel and tubular steel, brass ball feet made in early 1950s by Les Ateliers Matégot, France bearing label to underside: MATEGOT / Made in France Each L shaped table...
Brass, Steel
Wendell Castle, Rare Games Table, Walnut & Curly Maple, initialled & dated 1974
By Wendell Castle
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Wendell Castle (1932-2018), Games Table, Walnut & Curly Maple, initialled & dated 1974 This is a rare design, which is illustrated in the catalogue raisonée (see below). The table ...
Maple, Walnut
Hans J Wegner, Danish Teak & Oak Drop-Leaf Dining Table by Andreas Tuck, 1950s
By Andreas Tuck, Hans J. Wegner
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Hans J Wegner, Danish Teak & Oak Drop-Leaf Dining Table by Andreas Tuck, 1950s Designed by Hans J Wegner in 1950 and manufactured by cabinetmaker Andreas Tuck in Demmark, this is th...
Brass
Wendell Castle, Triad Chair, Gold Leaf and Fibreglass, USA 2007, limited edition
By Wendell Castle
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Wendell Castle Triad Chair, USA 2007 gel coated fibreglass with gold leaf etched signature and date to underside Castle '07 with limited edition no. 5/8 86cm high, 86cm deep, 91cm w...
Gold Leaf
Paul Evans, Zigzag Coffee Table, model PE11, by Directional, USA 1970
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Paul Evans (American 1931-1987) Zigzag Coffee Table model PE11 conceived 1970 and made by Directional, USA The zigzag base in welded, polychromed and patinated steel, with rectangul...
Steel
Le Corbusier, Cité de Refuge Writing Table, original example, France circa 1930
By Le Corbusier
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Le Corbusier Table from Cité de Refuge de l'Armée du Salut, Paris enamelled steel, painted plywood frame, linoleum writing surface painted letter R to underside 74cm high, 111cm wide...
Steel
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table in Wood Gold Leaf and Bronze by Gavina 1980s
By Simon Gavina Editions, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Cascina, Pisa
Traccia side table with structure in polished cast bronze, elliptical top in plywood finished with fine yellow gold leaf. Traccia table was origi...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table in Wood Gold Leaf and Bronze by Gavina 1980s
By Meret Oppenheim, Simon Gavina Editions
Located in Cascina, Pisa
Traccia side table with structure in polished cast bronze, elliptical top in plywood finished with fine yellow gold leaf. Traccia table was originally designed by Meret Oppenheim i...
Bronze, Gold Leaf
20th Century Meret Oppenheim Traccia Side Table by Simon Gavina Golden '70s
By Simon Gavina Editions, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Torino, Piemonte
This table is a surrealist piece of furniture made while International Style was popular. Meret Oppenheim was a German-born Swiss artist and designer best known for her teacup lined ...
Bronze
Table ’Traccia’ by Meret Oppenheim for Simon Gavina, Italy, 1972
By Meret Oppenheim, Studio Simon
Located in Echt, NL
Original ’Traccia’ table in very good condition. Designed by Meret Oppenheim Produced by Studio Simon’s Collezione Ultramobili, Milan, 1972 The tabletop is covered in gold leaf and has bird tracks embossed in the surface. The top rests on two brass feet in the form of bird legs. The original table was exhibited by the Surrealist artist Meret Oppenheim in 1939 for the Parisian gallery René Drouin...
Brass, Gold Leaf
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Meret Oppenheim, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’opera d’arte funzionale”, or functional artworks, in so doing inaugurating a new approach of furnishing where surreal objects were adapted for everyday use. This led to the creation of the Ultramobile Collection. These pieces, that went beyond (ultra) furniture (mobile) engaged the imagination, complementing rational intelligence with a sense of wonder, where geometry interacted with fantasy. One of these pieces was the low table that the Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim designed in 1929 for Leo Castelli’s avant-garde gallery, dubbing it the “Bird Leg...
Steel
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Meret Oppenheim, Cassina
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’...
Steel
