New Arrivals

Restating the “re” words

	Repurposed stone top table shown on the mezzanine level of PRIMITIVE with detail

Restore, recycle, repurpose, reinvent, readapt, reclaim, and reuse – all concepts relevant in the modern world are actually ideas as old as civilization. In the ancient world, bronze, bricks, stone and paper all found new life over and over again. Today, nothing seems exempt as humankind reexamines how to deal with the products and byproducts of our existence on an increasingly crowded and fragile planet. In the world of trash, literally speaking, refuse, not exactly another “re” word is recycled as energy. In the world of medicine, organs are reused; and in the dual worlds of architecture and design, buildings are readapted, steel shipping containers are repurposed, packaging is returned, reprocessed, and recycled, and former architectural details are reconsidered as art and reclaimed as this week’s New Arrival.

Repurposed Stone Top Table With Five Diamond Motif; Indeterminate Origin; Top: Marble, likely 18th C. or earlier; Base: Elmwood, contemoporary; PRIMITIVE I.D. #F1509-042; 1 of 2; $3950 each

This week’s New Arrival features a stone top side table. Although imported, it’s difficult to determine the exact origin of the piece. The top was found in China where it was set into mud and used as a step. Probably an architectural detail, it is also hard to know its exact purpose or what kind of building it adorned. It may have been part of a door lintel appearing in a home, government building, or temple. The diamond or lozenge motif chiseled into the stone is an ancient symbol found in many parts of the world. In Asia, it was associated with multiple religions to represent the indestructible nature of spirit. The idea to salvage the step as a table and the design came from America, while the base was made in China. This table began with all the re words reinvigorated as a functional and meaningful work of art.