Oval Rope and Leather Mirror by Audoux-Minet — French Work, Circa 1970

This elegant oval mirror, a creation of the French design duo Audoux-Minet, exemplifies the refined rusticity for which Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet became celebrated throughout the 1950s and 1970s. The mirror is encircled by a thick surround fashioned in the manner of a horse collar — the traditional equestrian harness piece that inspired so many of their most iconic forms — woven from sturdy braided rope and finished with panels of stitched natural leather. The interplay of the rough-hewn cordage and the supple hide gives the piece an organic warmth that is entirely its own.

Adrien Audoux and Frida Minet established their Parisian workshop in the late 1940s, quickly distinguishing themselves with objects and furniture that drew on vernacular maritime and rural craft. Working primarily with rope, rattan, leather, and iron, they transformed humble materials into sophisticated decorative pieces that occupied a unique niche between artisanal tradition and the modernist sensibility of post-war French design. Their work was collected and exhibited during their lifetime and has since attained a well-deserved place among the most sought-after French decorative arts of the mid-twentieth century.

Measuring 25 centimetres in width and 52.5 centimetres in height, the mirror is perfectly scaled for an entrance hall, a bathroom, or a narrow corridor where its vertical silhouette will read with quiet authority. The rope and leather surround show the gentle patina appropriate to its age, with no damage to the mirror plate. A piece that brings to any interior an element of genuine craft and design history.