Mandu Valet Stand

In 1929, the Maharajah of Indore commissioned Eckart Muthesius to build and furnish his Manik Bagh palace. Completed four years later, the palace was a masterpiece of the Art Deco style. Muthesius complemented his architecture with his own furniture and lamp designs.

The Maharajah had countless servants. Eckart Muthesius added to them yet another: his valet Mandu serves up an elegant appearance with typical Art Déco flourish. Very feminine and yet – or perhaps for this reason – used mostly by gentlemen who do not want to entrust their business jackets to a simple coat rack. The original chrome-plated version reflects the environment, whereas the new colours, black and bronze, especially emphasize the lines of the design.

Following his studies at the Associated State School for Applied Arts in Berlin and the London Polytechnic, Eckart Muthesius became a master student in the studio of his father, Hermann Muthesius, cofounder of the Deutscher Werkbund. In 1929 Muthesius met Prince Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur in Oxford, the later Maharajah of Indore, who commissioned him to build and furnish his Manik Bagh palace – and within four years Muthesius created a masterpiece of the Art Deco style.

The architectural design of the palace as well as the design of many of the furniture and lamps were created by himself. Together with avant-garde pieces by Marcel Breuer, Charlotte Perriand or Eileen Gray, he combined them to create a masterful total work of art. From 1936 to 1939, Muthesius was also head of the urban planning and redevelopment department of the state of Indore. When war broke out, he had to leave India and returned to Berlin, where he worked as a freelance architect.