CANVAS MAGAZINE

Vintage Furniture
Get retro design savvy in ‘vintage’ Beirut

(Xieme siècle, located in the heart of the Hamra district, is world, and several decades, apart from the commotion of the street outside. The interior of this sunny showroom is a haven of cool sophistication. To the untrained eye, it isn’t immediately clear what kind of things the gallery has in store, but that, it turns out, is exactly the point. According to Souheil Hanna, who runs the gallery with his sister Hala, the aim is to show pieces the “the eye is not used to seeing”. He purposely seeks out that which is unique and unusual, items he feels will stimulate visitors much more than the common forms they have seen many times before. One of the ways he does this is by collecting the works of the celebrated decorators of the period. As he explains, “designers think for the masses, but decorators think for the client”.

Beirut is a great place to collect works of some of the most celebrated designer/decorators of the 50s and 60s. The most legendary of these is the French decorator Jean Royere. During the 1950s Royere had a thriving studio in Beirut, from which he designed not only for the drawing rooms of Lebanese society, but also for a long list of illustrious clients in the Middle East, including the Shah of Iran and King Farouk. Today, his name has iconic status for lovers of 20th century furniture and his pieces are fetching ever-rising prices at auction houses around the world.

Needless to say, the Royere pieces at XXieme Siècle are some of the most valuable items in the showroom, not to mention the most extraordinary. Royere often injected humour into his designs, playing with proportions, using undulating lines where least expected, and upholstering in whimsical fabrics. A pair of Royere wooden coffee tables in the entrance of the gallery is covered in a layer of bright red Formica, which extends over the edge in a curved pattern, replicating a tablecloth. In another corner, a large armoire with door panels carved in a diamond pattern rests, unexpectedly, on a sculpted wave of wood. Various chairs also represent Royere fanciful play on traditional forms; one pair is perfectly sleek and unobtrusive, covered in an elegant pony skin, another is hugely rotund and squat and upholstered in purple velour. Both sport rounded oak legs- a hallmark of the designer’s work.
The collection at XXieme Siècle reads like a roster of some of the biggest names in 20th century architecture and design: Joe Colombo, Mathieu Mategot, Pierre Chareau and Achille Castiglioni have all been represented at the gallery which currently has a pair of the famous T-chairs, designed by William Katavolos and Douglas Kelly in 1953. This three-legged chair with the original leather sling seat has influenced generations of designers and is still as coveted today as it was 50years ago.

The Hannas also collect sculpture, pottery and artwork by noted artists, such as Jacques Blin and Victor Vasarely. The latter, recognized as a founder of the Op-Art movement, is know for his mathematically-oriented work, which used tricks of visual perception and perspective to create optical illusions. All the Vasarely prints at the gallery are originals and are signed by the artist and hung thoughtfully above period pieces. Souheil, who lives in an apartment upstairs, confesses to sometimes being inspired to go down into the gallery and rearrange the furniture in the middle of the night. His knowledge of the period is inspiring and he clearly feels intimately connected to everything in the gallery. The prices at XXieme Siècle vary from $100 for a small item to up to $100,000 for a full dining set by Royere. As Hanna is quick to point out, it’s not every day that he can get hold of something so unique and there are many collectible items at more affordable prices, such as Vasarely prints, which range between $500 and $2000.

The gallery also boasts a well-stocked bookshelf that Hanna encourages visitors to peruse. Even if they don’t buy right away, he is genuinely happy if visitors come in and brows experience the galley and leave having learned something new. It’s this gracious attitude that makes his passion for 20th century furniture contagious and is guaranteed to keep all who visit coming back for more.