Prototype for a Seat for the ESMA in Malmedy - 1947
Oak and leather
H. 98 cm, W. 71,5 cm, D. 92,5 cm, seat H. 43,5 cm

After the war, Jacques Dupuis designed the decoration, wall lamps, and part of the furniture for the social and cultural center ESMA in Malmedy. Working on this big project, he conceived bars, shelves, and coat racks in a new style, precursor to what would later be typical for fifties design: oval tables with cut ends on semi-conical oblique legs tapering to their base, in light oak, both heavy and elegant.
According to Jan Thomaes, the chair presented here is a prototype for the ESMA furniture that was not withheld, most likely because it was too big. It was stocked in the architect's attic, which explains its impeccable condition.