Jean Royere Polar Bear sofa is definitely not a foreign name for the furnishing cognoscenti. It is hard to think of anything that can top the Ours Polaire sofa and armchair. The idea came to life during the late 1940s by Jean Royere, a French furniture designer. The line features incredibly cushy, graceful half-circular shape, and delicate woolen velvet upholstery.
Polar Bear sofas, as well as the chair pairs have combination of solemnity and delight that match with modern taste. They are highly sought by a great deal of collectors and tastemakers all over the world. Collectors from U.S, Europe, and Asia show that the demand is huge and global. In the hand of top dealer or through auction, they can easily rate over half a million dollars. Several household name such as Kanye West, Larry Gagosian, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jennifer Aniston have acquired them – with Kanye West claiming that it is his favorite piece of furniture.
Jean Royere Polar Bear sofa is designed as embodiment of Jean Royère’s (1902-1981) unique style and spirit of life following the period of World War. Ours Polaire, which is the French for polar bear, have become precious items since the idea was lashed out in 1947. Jean Royere polar bear sofa cost more than US $520,000 in 2017 for a cream colored one. The armchairs in pale gold shades today can cost double of that.
Part of Jean Royere’s design charm is how the pieces have minimalistic appearance. He used conventional techniques of wood bending to covering the furnishing’s skeletons entirely then layered it with synthetic foam. The wooden material skeleton for the interior has distinctive shape, which similar to Louis XVI sofas, appalling the entire Paris when it was first displayed at “La Résidence Française” exhibition of in Art et Industrie. It didn’t take long before orders flow in – some of them being famous authorities, such as French Minister in Helsinki of Foreign Affairs and Shah of Iran in Tehran.
It is actually not a strange nor new phenomenon of using sofa as status piece of statement – however, the qualifications of becoming one has transformed from huge, attention-demanding, and expensive furnishings. Now, the sofa market has niche for limited edition, extremely exclusive pieces that’s designed by world-class furniture designers. As it does with other trends, someday it’s possible for another high-end furniture model to get as staggering command returns as Jean Royere Polar Bear sofa.
