Skip to main content

Atelier Marolles Tables

French

The stark brutalist furniture and decor created by Jean Touret and Les Artisans de Marolles during the 20th century is ripe for a comeback, and it is today drawing the attention of galleries and collectors.

French artist Jean Touret was the founder of Les Artisans de Marolles, a group of furniture makers based in the Loire Valley in the postwar era. The rustic but exquisitely proportioned pieces they produced included benches made from gouged wood, a wrought-iron sconce in the form of a cockerel, three-legged stools with seats carved to hug the body and a series of exceptional credenzas whose doors were sculpted by Touret himself, with themes like the seven deadly sins and pastoral life. 

Touret’s talents were not deployed only on tables and lighting. From the mid-1960s until shortly before his death, in 2004, he earned his living largely through ecclesiastical commissions, the most famous of which was the altarpiece at Notre-Dame de Paris. Installed in 1989 and destroyed in the fire that swept through the cathedral in 2019, the work consisted of a brass chest clad with bronze panels depicting the evangelists and the four great prophets.

More than anything, Touret was a sculptor, although a rather unsuccessful one during his lifetime. He rarely exhibited, sold next to nothing and was never able to afford a heated studio.

Touret was born in 1916 and largely brought up in Le Mans, in western France. He worked in the legal department of a local insurance company before fighting in World War II, during which he spent five years as a prisoner of war on the German–Czechoslovakian border. There, he had his first real contact with wood while being forced to work as a lumberjack. At the end of hostilities, he returned to France, settled in Marolles with his wife, Odile, and declared that he would become an artist (he had previously taken evening classes with a painter in Le Mans). In 1950, the manager of the Château de Chambord commissioned him to create a number of sculptures of deer and wild boars for the pavilions in the château’s park. That same year, Touret established Les Artisans de Marolles. For him, it was more a social venture than an artistic one. As industrialization expanded in postwar France, the village’s craftsmen found themselves in need of work.

The collective’s founding members were a basket maker, a potter, a blacksmith and a carpenter. The last, Émile Leroy, continued his work as a coffin maker while participating in the group. Touret acted as artistic director, imposing his aesthetic vision through direct discussions with the craftsmen in their workshops rather than through drawings. Over the years, the collective’s output was regularly exhibited in both the Marolles village hall and the more magnificent setting of the nearby Château Royal de Blois. Certain items were also stocked by the Primavera boutique in Paris, an offshoot of the department store Le Printemps.

To respond to the increasing demand, craftsmen from other villages were brought in, and as their numbers rose, so did tensions and disputes. Uninterested in ego management, Touret increasingly took a back seat, moving to a village on the other bank of the Loire in 1963 before officially quitting the following year. Although Atelier Maroles continued to exist until 1970, the aesthetic quality of its production took a marked turn for the worse.

Touret then stopped creating secular furniture altogether. In 1965, he met a young chaplain at the Sorbonne, Jean-Marie Lustiger, who went on to become not only his most indefatigable supporter but also a cardinal and the archbishop of Paris. It was Lustiger who initiated most of Touret’s commissions for the Church, whether monumental sculptures of Christ, liturgical furniture or the Notre-Dame de Paris altarpiece.

Until recently, Touret’s furniture and decor had been forgotten for decades. Its rediscovery is largely due to dealers like Benoist F. Drut, at Maison Gerard in New York, and Yves and Victor Gastou, in Paris, who were attracted to its elemental forms and handcrafted spirit. An exhibition in 2022 at the Galerie Gastou posthumously shed light on the work

Find vintage Atelier Maroles furniture on 1stDibs.

3
to
3
3
3
3
3
3
1
Height
to
Width
to
Depth
to
3
2
2
1
1
3
3
6
427
176
150
144
Creator: Atelier Marolles
French Brutalist Elm Coffee Table by Atelier Marolles
By Jean Touret, Atelier Marolles
Located in Houston, TX
French Brutalist elm coffee table by Atelier Marolles. This handsome hand carved French elm rectangular coffee table or cocktail table is a stunning example of the craftsmen at the A...
Category

1960s French Brutalist Vintage Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Elm

Jean Touret & the Artisans of Marolles Center Table, France, circa 1960
By Atelier Marolles, Jean Touret
Located in New York, NY
Stamped "Marolles." Edition of 20 Jean Touret moved to Pezay, a rural area near Marolles, in 1946. While there, he became highly conscious of the uncertainty that Industrial development would bring to the future of the local craftsmen. Believing strongly in the value of the artisan...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Organic Modern Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Elm

Jean Touret & The Artisans of Marolles, Rectangular Dining Table, circa 1960
By Atelier Marolles, Jean Touret
Located in New York, NY
Stamped "Marolles." Jean Touret moved to Pezay, a rural area near Marolles, in 1946. While there, he became highly conscious of the uncertainty that industrial development would bring to the future of the local craftsmen. Believing strongly in the value of the artisan...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Rustic Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Wrought Iron

Related Items
19th Century French Provincial Oak Farm Table with Drawer & Stretcher Base
Located in Middleburg, VA
19th century French Provincial Oak Farm Table with Drawer and Stretcher Base. Turned legs and center spindle accent. France, 1801-1900. Measures: 28.25" H, 58.5" W, 29.25" D.
Category

19th Century French French Provincial Antique Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Oak

Custom Reclaimed Elm Coffee Table
Located in Chicago, IL
Made of wood reclaimed from Qing-dynasty architecture, this contemporary dining table is a celebration of wabi-sabi style. The clean lines highlight every knot, split, groove, and co...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Organic Modern Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Reclaimed Wood

Custom Reclaimed Elm Coffee Table
Custom Reclaimed Elm Coffee Table
H 15 in W 68 in D 30 in
1957 Handcrafted Black Oak Rectangular Dining Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Handcrafted black oak rectangular dining table.
Category

2010s Mexican Brutalist Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Hardwood, Oak, Bentwood

Antique French Walnut Farmhouse Table, FR-0110
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Antique French Walnut Farmhouse Table Item #: FR-0110 Material: Walnut Dimensions: 82"W X 32.75"D X 30.75”H
Category

Early 19th Century French Antique Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Walnut

Dining Table in Rosewood of Danish Design from the 1960s
Located in Lejre, DK
Dining table in rosewood of Danish design from the 1960s. The table is in great vintage condition.
Category

1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Rosewood

Brutalist Solid Elm Wood Coffee Table
Located in Weesp, NL
Striking robust brutalist coffee table made of solid Elm wood. The elm has warm colors and a fantastic patina from use over decades of years. Measurements : 77 x 77 x 45cm - 30.31...
Category

1960s Dutch Brutalist Vintage Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Elm

Brutalist Solid Elm Wood Coffee Table
Brutalist Solid Elm Wood Coffee Table
H 17.72 in W 30.32 in D 30.32 in
Antique Swiss Country Pay Table
Located in Forney, TX
An early European oak pay table with beautiful, rich, rustic, elegantly aged patina. Born in Switzerland in the 18th century, likely in the Swiss Alps near the French border, hand-crafted of high-quality solid oak, the Baroque period table is in exceptional shape, very strong and sturdy, excellent craftsmanship, quality and detailing throughout. Having a rectangular two board top with banded inlay, above a single large frieze drawer, retaining the original forged iron handle, the sides accented with wooden pegged mortise through-tenoned joinery that allows the tabletop to lift off the base quickly, the pegs over a shaped apron with heart form cutout and carved scalloped edge ornamentation, rising on four hand turned splayed baluster-form tapered legs joined by a plank box stretcher, ending in ball feet. Provenance: Acquired from the estate of the late T. Boone Pickens (1928-2019). An American business magnate, billionaire, financier, and philanthropist. Acquisition: J. Garrett Auctioneers had the pleasure of presenting Pickens' collection of 18th and 19th Century furnishings and accessories. The breadth of T. Boone Pickens' career is impressive. He built one of the largest independent natural gas oil companies in the United States and flourished as an entrepreneur thereafter, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in the process. Among his lengthy accolades, Time magazine has identified him one of its "100 Most Influential People", Financial World named him "CEO of the Decade" in 1989, and Oil and Gas Investor identified him as one of the "100 Most Influential People of the Petroleum Century." Dimensions: (approx) 30.25" High, 59" Wide, 34.5" Deep As warm and attractive as it is functional, the versatile piece can be used many different ways, including as a rustic library table...
Category

18th Century Swiss Baroque Antique Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Iron

Antique Swiss Country Pay Table
Antique Swiss Country Pay Table
H 30.25 in W 59 in D 34.5 in
Silas Seandel Brutalist Mixed Metal Coffee Table, Signed and Dated 1976
By Silas Seandel
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A rare signed and dated Silas Seandal coffee table comprised of a mix of raw solid metals including brass, bronze, steel and copper which have been applied by use of heat treatments ...
Category

1970s American Brutalist Vintage Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Brass, Bronze, Copper, Steel

Dining Table in Teak of Danish Design from the 1960s
Located in Lejre, DK
This Danish-designed dining table from the 1960s showcases the timeless elegance and craftsmanship typical of the era. Crafted from teak, a favored material for its warm tones and du...
Category

1960s Danish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Teak

1930s Spanish Wooden Farmhouse Table
Located in Marbella, ES
Rustic 1930s Spanish wooden farmhouse table.
Category

Early 20th Century Spanish Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Wood

1930s Spanish Wooden Farmhouse Table
1930s Spanish Wooden Farmhouse Table
H 31.5 in W 63 in D 25.2 in
Vintage Pennsylvania House Farm House Style Drop Leaf Dining Table, Circa 1970s
By Pennsylvania House
Located in Germantown, MD
Pennsylvania House attributed Vintage drop leaf farm house style table. Dining table/ Kitchen. This is a great piece for a dining table, coffee table, craft table given it's a great ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American American Classical Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Metal

19th Century French Refectory Table
Located in Los Angeles, CA
19th century patinated wood library/refectory table. Made in France, circa 1850s.
Category

19th Century French Antique Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Wood

19th Century French Refectory Table
19th Century French Refectory Table
H 45.5 in W 83 in D 30 in
Previously Available Items
Artisans of Marolles, Hand Carved Oak Coffee Table, France, circa 1960
By Atelier Marolles
Located in New York, NY
Jean Touret moved to Pezay, a rural area near Marolles, in 1946. While there, he became highly conscious of the uncertainty that Industrial development would bring to the future of t...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Rustic Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Oak

Jean Touret & The Artisans of Marolles, Rectangular Side Table, circa 1960
By Atelier Marolles, Jean Touret
Located in New York, NY
Jean Touret moved to Pezay, a rural area near Marolles, in 1946. While there, he became highly conscious of the uncertainty that industrial development would bring to the future of the local craftsmen. Believing strongly in the value of the artisan...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Rustic Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Wrought Iron

Jean Touret & The Artisans of Marolles, Rectangular Dining Table, circa 1960
By Atelier Marolles, Jean Touret
Located in New York, NY
Stamped "Marolles." Jean Touret moved to Pezay, a rural area near Marolles, in 1946. While there, he became highly conscious of the uncertainty that industrial development would bring to the future of the local craftsmen. Believing strongly in the value of the artisan...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Rustic Atelier Marolles Tables

Materials

Wrought Iron

Atelier Marolles tables for sale on 1stDibs.

Atelier Marolles tables are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of wood and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Atelier Marolles tables, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Prices for Atelier Marolles tables can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $3,850 and can go as high as $80,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $8,000.

Recently Viewed

View All