Tartar Console

Tartar is a console designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1985. At 195 cm wide, 85 cm deep and 78 cm high it is a large, table-height piece that can stand in a hallway or against a long wall, or take the place of a sideboard in a dining room.

It is built in lacquered wood and covered with decorative laminate and wood veneer, so that painted, printed and natural wood surfaces sit side by side. Lacquer and veneer are applied by hand in Italy, and small differences in colour and surface between pieces belong to that way of making.

Memphis broke with rationalism: its pieces work with bright colour, geometric shapes and recognisable patterns, and refer to high and popular culture alike.