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.
Marble, wood and brass coffee table 1950s
By Melchiorre Bega
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Marble, wood, and brass coffee table 1950. Attributable to Melchiorre Bega Conditions: Good Materials: Marble, Brass, Wood Époque : 1950 Origin: private home
Marble, Brass
Costantin coffee table, Studio Simon, 1971 surrealist brass
By Studio Simon
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Constantin coffee table, Studio Simon, Italy, ca. 1970. A tribute to Constantin Brancusi, the Constantin coffee table was designed by Studio Simon, founded by Dino Gavina, a key fi...
Brass
Wood and glass coffee table, Melchiorre Bega, circa 1950
By Melchiorre Bega
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Wood and glass coffee table, attributed to Melchiorre Bega, circa 1950. Dark varnished walnut wood, with brass feet. Provenance: private home.
Glass, Wood, Walnut
TL22 Table, Franco Albini for Poggi, 1950
Located in Milano, Lombardia
TL22 table, designed by Franco Albini for Poggi, is an icon of Italian design of the 50s. Featuring clean lines and a sleek walnut wood frame, this table has been created to offer st...
Teak
Low glass and steel coffee table, Manifattura Italiana, circa 1970
By Space Age Products
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Low glass and steel coffee table, Manifattura Italiana, circa 1970 Conditions: Good Materials: Glass, Steel Era: 1970 Measurements: 60x40x36 cm
Steel
Low Table Attributed to Fontanaarte
By Fontana Arte
Located in Milano, Lombardia
Coffee table attributed to Fontana Arte, with a hexagonal tempered glass top and brass supporting frame that support the top with a very elegant interlocking. Bright due to the prese...
Brass
Table ’Traccia’ by Meret Oppenheim for Simon Gavina, Italy, 1972
By Studio Simon, Meret Oppenheim
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 Oppehneim per Simon Gavina Tavolino "Traccia", Italia 1972
By Meret Oppenheim, Simon Gavina Editions
Located in Naples, IT
Questo tavolo raro e iconico presenta un piano in legno rivestito in foglia d'oro con tracce di uccelli in rilievo sulla superficie. Poggia su due scultoree gambe in ottone massiccio...
Brass
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
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’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 Table...
Steel
Meret Oppenheim Traccia Sculptural Table
By Cassina, Meret Oppenheim
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Meret Oppenheim Traccia sculptural table Manufactured by Cassina in Italy In 1971, Dino Gavino launched what he called “l’...
Steel
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
