Vintage Aluminium Desk Tray, Walter and Moretti for Formes Nouvelles — France, circa 1970

Formes Nouvelles was one of the French design distributors of the 1960s and 1970s that understood something the furniture trade often missed: that the objects on a desk or a side table mattered as much as the furniture beneath them, and that a well-designed tray or bowl was as worthy of a designer's attention as a chair. The pieces they distributed — signed, editioned, made in quality materials — sat at the intersection of sculpture and function that defined the best Italian and French design of the period.

This vide-poche is French, circa 1970, designed by Walter and Moretti and distributed by Formes Nouvelles, cast in solid aluminium and signed in the cast on the front face. The form is a square platform with a shallow concave dish — the four sides straight and vertical, the interior surface curved inward in a continuous saddle shape that rises at the corners and dips at the centre, the geometry of a surface under tension. It is a simple idea executed with the precision that solid cast aluminium demands: the edges are sharp, the curves are even, the weight — 1.180 kg for a 16 cm square tray — tells you immediately that this is not a pressed or spun piece but something cast from a pattern, cooled slowly, and finished by hand. Note how the concave interior catches light differently at every angle — the saddle curve that reads as flat from above and reveals its depth only when the light changes, the detail that makes a minimalist object worth looking at across a decade of use.

The aluminium carries honest surface marks consistent with decades of desk life — the small pitting and scuffs that aluminium accumulates without losing its character. The signature is present and legible. It sits well on a desk, a side table, or a shelf, and it will hold keys, change, or a pair of glasses with the quiet authority of something designed rather than made.

It arrives professionally packed and fully insured. All duties and import charges are our responsibility — you pay nothing beyond the listed price. Returns are accepted within 30 days.

DETAILS:
Size: 16 × 16 cm (6.3 × 6.3 in) · Height 4 cm (1.6 in)
Material: cast aluminium, signed in the cast — Walter and Moretti for Formes Nouvelles
Style/Period: French modernist design, circa 1970
Weight: 1.180 kg (2.6 lb)
Shipping: professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide — all import duties paid by us, nothing to settle on delivery
Condition: good vintage condition; honest surface marks and light pitting consistent with use; signature present and legible

Read our condition standard. Please ask if you need additional photographs or measurements.

Worldwide delivery is included in the price. Every piece is individually packed, tracked and fully insured. No shipping charge is added at checkout. If your destination is not listed, please contact us before ordering.

Maison Jaspers pays US tariffs and import duties. For other destinations, local import taxes and duties may apply and are payable by the recipient. Contact us before ordering if you need destination-specific guidance.

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Notify us within 30 days of delivery if you wish to return a piece. No reason is required. You pay return shipping for a change-of-mind return.

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