Cansado Mahogany Bench By Charlotte Perriand, Steph Simon Circa 1960

In the late 1950s, Charlotte Perriand was asked to design and furnish the city of Cansado, in Mauritania. This mining city was built to house the staff of the Société des Mines de Fer de Mauritanie "MIFERMA" and was organized according to an industrial logic, with three distinct districts: "worker," "supervisors," and management. In the 1960s, nearly 5,000 people lived in this new city. This rest bench furnished the housing of the management staff in Cansado. It consists of a black lacquered metal leg, 13 mahogany slats, and a storage box covered in gray laminate. The mattress and backrest were reupholstered in gray wool cloth from Nobilis. Edition: Steph Simon, Circa 1959 - 1967. Bibliography: Jacques Barsac, Charlotte Perriand, An Art of Living, 1903-1959, Paris, 2005, page 440 for similar models. François Laffanour, Steph Simon, Retrospective 1956-1974, Paris, 2007