The Cloud

200Grs. X ALMAZ Collectible Design

The Cloud is a high table that draws inspiration from the grand pine tree, an elegant local and regional tree that is at the verge of extinction and one that has been endlessly described in the landscape poems of Al-Rumi. The piece portrays the pine tree’s elegant gaze and grounded stature that reaches the clouds. The Cloud’s legs or abstracted pine trunks are drawn from traditional arabesque esthetics that depict branches left bare or twisted in regular and irregular geometric shapes. The legs, however, transcend this traditional mode by adopting a third dimension inspired by the Abbasid slant method of woodcarving which imitates the curved lines of stucco design to produce stylized vegetable figures with continuous flowing lines devoid of right angles. The result is a piece that merges art and design: The Cloud is both functional and sculptural. After being carefully carved and cut, The Cloud’s top pieces and legs are sand-casted by local craftsmen, a very ancient method of casting in special refined sand that enables the molding of metal with precision. It is an ancient Middle Eastern craft that goes back thousands of years and was very much employed in the making of metal work. Through our hands and theirs, together, we are able to explore and expand on traditional skills and influence re-inventiveness of old crafts.