Aleyè Nomade No. 37 – Onyx and Chrome Napkin Holder

At once grounded and elevated, Aleyè Nomade No. 37 explores balance through contrast—between permanence and line, softness and structure, nature and design. Its foundation is a thick-cut base of pale yellow onyx, raw at the edges, veined with earthy translucency and time. It is from this mineral body that three polished chrome arcs rise, equally spaced and subtly graduated in height, forming an open cradle of geometric repetition.

Originally conceived in Italy during the 1980s as a napkin holder, its use today is fluid—it could just as easily anchor a desk as a table, holding letters, photographs, or fragments of daily life. What endures is its sculptural integrity. The base, irregular and softly fractured, reads like a slice of landscape; the metal lines, bent with mechanical precision, introduce a kind of manmade restraint.

Together, they form an object that is both functional and interpretive—a quiet composition of tension and repose. No. 37 is one of a kind, not merely by virtue of its materials, but through the conversation they hold with one another. It doesn’t perform so much as it inhabits—slow, weighty, essential.