-Christopher Duffy, Duffy London
“Collaborating with Christopher Duffy has been an exciting fusion of the old and the new. As a craftsman of scagliola, I
bring centuries-old techniques to the table, while Duffy’s imagination and bold designs push the boundaries of what’s
possible. Together, we’ve created something that honours the past while embracing the future.”

– Christopher Wall, Christopher Wall Design

Pietre is a new collaboration between design studio Duffy London and Artist/Designer Christopher Wall. This coffee table is the first in this range that brings together Wall’s 17th Century Italian Scagliola technique with Duffy’s innovative use of algorithmic design technology.

Scagliola is a plaster technique traditionally used in architecture and sculpture – a composite substance made from gypsum, glues and natural pigments to mimic marble and precious stones. Scagliola was revived in the 17th-century during the Renaissance and seen as an effective substitute for costly marble. The combination of materials and hand-applied techniques allows for creating patterns and colours not seen in natural marble.

In his early career, Christopher Wall was a Designer at the Duffy London studio. He left to spend time in Italy, where he set about learning this elusive plaster technique – becoming one of only a handful of Artists practising this ancient craft. The bases of this piece are crafted using this artisanal material, making each Pietre piece unique.

Pietre’s uniqueness is continued in the overall shape of the piece as it is based upon Duffy London’s popular Kronos range, which uses algorithmic time-based software to develop unique shapes for each edition of the design (hence the name Kronos). The result is that each Pietre piece is completely unique, truly representing the idea of art-furniture. We offer bespoke sizing and a dining table version to expand the usability of the Pietre range.

Through their close work and mentorship, Christopher Duffy and Christopher Wall have remained fast friends over a decade. We are delighted to be working with Wall again and are planning further collaborations in the future. “The Scagliola is a beautiful material and not one that many designers have experienced working with. Christopher Wall gave us front-row seats to this ancient and secretive technique, allowing us the opportunity to apply new methods we are just discovering. The results are stunning and also conceptually fascinating, as a passed down knowledge that is now breaking new ground.”

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