Pierre Jeanneret Library Table, Chandigarh, c.1955-56

Monumental teak library table by Pierre Jeanneret from the Chandigarh furniture program, circa mid-twentieth century. A long rectangular top rests on two broad, solid timber supports, giving the object an architectural presence suited to communal reading and study. Jeanneret’s furnishings were integral to the architectural and institutional life of Chandigarh, the new city developed in post-independence India. Tables and desks translated the requirements of study, administration and communal activity into a concise vocabulary of timber construction. Working with local craftsmen, Jeanneret treated the surface and its supporting members as a complete composition. These objects share the directness of his seating designs, while their different proportions reflect the particular demands of writing, reading, dining and the organization of everyday work. The slab-like supports replace a conventional four-leg arrangement with a more emphatic relationship between vertical and horizontal planes. Their considerable breadth anchors the long top while leaving the ends open. The timber surface shows pronounced wear, changes in tone and accumulated marks that speak to the table’s use as a working object. Painted “PGIMER” lettering survives on the edge, followed by inventory numerals. The prefix identifies the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, established in 1962, and records an association with the institute during the table’s institutional life. The marking belongs to this photographed table and remains a significant detail within its aged surface. The vintage teak retains variations in grain, color and surface wear, with softened edges and individual traces of use visible in the photographs. These details give the woodwork its material character and preserve the sense of a furnishing made for daily life in institutional or residential interiors. A related library-table design was catalogued by Sotheby’s in 2016, lot 302, citing Touchaleaume and Moreau, L’Aventure indienne, 2010, pages 380–381 and 580. Dimensions: approximately 96 inches long, 48 inches deep, 29 inches high. Provenance: private collection, Chandigarh, India, as recorded by Studio Balestra. Accompanied by a Studio Balestra Certificate of Authenticity. Product Type: Consoles