A 'Berceau' Low table, Modèle aux Renards, conceived circa 1975

When a friend who survived the atrocities of the concentration camps returned to Paris in 1944 with a young tame fox and kept her chained up in his apartment, the tenderhearted Diego was outraged. He insisted on taking the fox so she could be free to roam the studios and courtyard of 46 rue Hippolyte-Maindron. Diego and the fox, whom he named Miss Rose after the color of her fur, developed a kindred relationship. The little fox enjoyed Diego’s pampering, would come when called and perform tricks for her master. Alberto was stranded in Geneva during the occupation and many friends had fled Paris, so Miss Rose provided companionship at the tail end of the war. When Alberto returned in September 1945 he was not pleased by the new studio inhabitant, whose permeating smell he found unbearable. One night after Diego had left for the night Alberto ‘inadvertently’ left open the studio door, allowing his brother’s beloved friend to escape into the city. The fate of Miss Rose was a devastating blow for Diego and the fox heads portrayed on the present table are an homage to his lost companion.