Lot Essay
Born in Brussels in 1928, Ado Chale's early years informed his later artistic output. Son of a cabinet-maker and apprenticed to a Blacksmith, Chale became interested in rocks and mineral specimens following a trip to Frankfurt. He opened his own store of minerals sometime later on the Avenue Louise in Brussels and also began selling his own creations - mosaics incorporating finds from the beaches of the Cap Blanc-Nez in France. The present table with its textured 'luna' surface and geological overtones combined with the architectonic handling of the metal medium seems to fuse his cabinet-making heritage with his fascination for the raw materials and textures to be found in nature.