Igniacio Pirovano (1909-1980) for Casa Comté, Buenos-Aires (1932- 1965)
Shirt chest, c. 1950
H. 100 cm x L. 146,5 cm x 50,5 cm
Body covered in leather gilded with gold leaf, with saddle stitching, surrounded by an angle, resting on four spindle feet with ferrules, the whole in black painted iron.
Pair of doors and a single door on the front, opening onto three rows of five sliding drawers in sycamore veneer. Very worn and exposed gilding on the facade and the top, resulting in a rich patina with moiré reflections of old gold, silver, green and brown.
The influence of Jean-Michel Frank is felt in the design and materials of this elegant piece of furniture, particularly with the blackened angle iron strapping and the saddle-stitched leather sheathing found in several of his creations.
Only the spindle legs with circular ferrules which appeared in the 1950s – while Frank would have used wrought iron spindle legs with a square section – denote a creation subsequent to his disappearance.
Frank and Pirovano have maintained friendships since they met at a masked ball in Paris in 1932. Shortly after, Comté began importing furniture from Frank & Chanaux to Argentina. A publishing agreement on certain Frank models, manufactured in the Comté workshops in Buenos Aires, was concluded in 1936, an activity which continued until the closure of Comté.
Frank collaborated on site with Pirovano during his brief exile in Argentina from June to January 1941 and continued to imbue the production of the Comté workshops with his spirit well after his death in New York in June 1941.
After the Second World War Comté became one of the most prestigious decoration houses in South America until the company ceased operations in 1963. Subsequently, Pirovano would lead a career as a collector and curator of the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo in Buenos Aires.