Nicolas Aubagnac
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HELIOS
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solar design
In Greek mythology, "Helios" is the god responsible for driving the chariot of the sun daily.
The idea of a radiant sun came to me from an Italian Renaissance painting depicting a golden halo…
On a smooth base of patiently polished solid ebony, a disc of light seems to "roll".
This precious gold wheel is entirely covered with a fine marquetry of straw strips.
Each slat naturally has a different color and the whole of the assembled slats gives the illusion that the lamp is lit from within.
The marquetry adorns both sides of the lamp, because it looks even more beautiful if the lamp is placed in front of a mirror or on a center console.
solid carved ebony base
lampshade: taffeta
A gift from Nature
To create straw marquetry, our workshops use rye straw grown in France.
Each rye stalk is dried, then immerse into a dye bath.
Then you have to split each stem to expose the inner side and flatten it to shape ribbons.
These are the ribbons that will be patiently cut, assembled and glued to obtain the desired pattern.
So what you see is the inside of the straw which is naturally shiny because it is coated with silica.
It is the plant that produces silica to seal the inside of its stem and allow the sap to circulate within it.
Thanks to Mother Nature for this gift that offers us endless decorating possibilities!
RESIDENCE AND DECORATION
March 2015
