Dry Bar, Elm, France, 1970

Dry Bar in Elm, Burl Elm, and Brown Melamine, France, 1970

Like a sculpted monolith softened by time, this dry bar exudes a quiet strength through its deeply grained façade. The rhythm of recessed panels and softly rounded verticals gives it the air of a modernist reliquary—sober, tactile, and architectural. As light glides across the burnished elm, it reveals a play of convex and concave relief, subtly animating its volumetric rigor.

Attributed to Maison Regain, the bar reflects the earthy rationalism of post-May ’68 Provence, when ateliers like Regain channeled the legacy of Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Chapo into a vernacular of solid wood, honest joinery, and rural restraint. The piece bears the imprint of the French Reconstruction ethos, albeit reinterpreted through the 1970s lens of modular living and utilitarian elegance.

The exterior is clad in solid elm with select panels of burl elm, their swirling figure providing a restrained counterpoint to the structural linearity. The interior reveals a contrasting logic: matte brown melamine surfaces that gesture to midcentury efficiency, with sliding doors and drawer fronts set flush into the framework. A lip of exposed burl beneath the counter subtly bridges the natural and the engineered.

Wear consistent with age and use. Meticulously preserved by Jada to maintain its structural integrity while honoring its original patina.

Its sculptural silhouette makes it not only a serviceable dry bar but a compositional anchor within a room—monastic yet sensuous, assertive yet quiet.

Available for private acquisition. Inquiries from discerning collectors are welcome.