Prototype Sheath of Wheat Center Table by Arturo Pani

Custom Sheath of Wheat Center Table by Arturo Pani, and fabricated as a prototype by Telleres Chacon, Mexico City. The piece was acquired from Telleres Chacon upon the retirement of master metalsmith, Manuel Chacon, in the 1980s. The invisible, expert braised welds show the signature work of Chacon. Arturo Pani was one of the most significant figures working in design during the Mexican Miracle (1940-1970), a period of economic expansion marked by class tensions. While Mario, his architect brother, reconfigured Mexico City through the creation of vast social housing tracts and university projects, Arturo, son of the Ambassador to France, worked as decorator to Mexico’s most powerful classes and created the ‘Acapulco Style’ during that city’s golden age of Hollywood tourism. These unfinished prototypes and furniture sketches were acquired from Talleres Chacón in 2010, upon the retirement of Manuel Chacón, Pani’s longtime collaborater, fabricator, and master metal worker.