Pierre Jeanneret Low Table, Model PJ-TB-04-A, Chandigarh, c.1965

Round low table by Pierre Jeanneret, model PJ-TB-04-A, from the Chandigarh furniture program, circa 1965. The circular teak top is supported by three cylindrical legs, producing a compact composition with a particularly clear structural rhythm. 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 legs are positioned around the circumference and project slightly above the edge of the top. Beneath, a triangular arrangement of timber stretchers links them, repeating the three-part geometry of the support. The rounded legs and circular surface soften the otherwise direct construction without obscuring its practical assembly. A surviving Gurmukhi inscription is painted on an underside brace, together with “(PB)” and the number “452.” Studio Balestra’s provenance documentation associates this lettering with Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, Punjab. The inscription adds a regional institutional history to the table and is preserved as part of its working surface, alongside the visible patina of the teak. 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. The PJ-TB-04-A low-table model is documented in Sotheby’s cataloguing as a design made for the medical research institute in Chandigarh, circa 1965. Dimensions: approximately 26 inches wide, 26 inches deep, 15.75 inches high. Provenance: private collection, Chandigarh, India, as recorded by Studio Balestra. Accompanied by a Studio Balestra Certificate of Authenticity. Product Type: Coffee Tables