Rare French 'Aérodrome' Side Table by Jean Prouvé for Aero Club Doncourt-Les-Conflans, 1938

A rare French 'Aérodrome' side table designed by Jean Prouvé in 1938 for the Aero Club Doncourt-Les-Conflans.

Made for a setting shaped by aviation and modern engineering, the table reflects Prouvé’s early approach to furniture, where structure is not concealed, but becomes the defining element of the piece. The design is spare and purposeful, with a lightness that comes from the tension between its slender metal framework and solid, geometric top.

The original laminate surface remains intact, paired with the original metal base. Its proportions are compact, but the construction gives it a presence that feels distinctly architectural. The angled supports and pointed feet speak to Prouvé’s interest in industrial forms, translating the language of engineering into a practical piece of furniture.

Designed specifically for the Aero Club Doncourt-Les-Conflans, the table carries a direct connection to the early history of French modernism and Prouvé’s work for aviation-related spaces. It is this unusual provenance and rarity that define the piece, not simply as a side table, but as an early example of Prouvé’s evolving vocabulary of functional, structurally expressive design.

About Jean Prouvé
Jean Prouvé (1901–1984) was a French designer, architect, engineer, and metalsmith whose innovative use of folded steel helped define 20th-century modern design. Founder of Atelier Prouvé in 1931, he created furniture and architectural elements that balanced industrial efficiency with elegant, functional forms, producing iconic works such as the Standard Chair and pioneering prefabricated housing.

A member of the French Resistance during World War II, Prouvé devoted his work to designing prefabricated housing for displaced families before collaborating with Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret, and Sonia Delaunay on some of the era's most influential modernist projects, including the Antony furniture line and furnishings for the Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris.

He later spent much of his career teaching, and today his furniture and architectural prototypes are celebrated as landmarks of French modernism, with works such as the Maison Tropicale and his iconic furniture commanding enduring acclaim among collectors.