Abyss Table by Christopher Duffy

The Abyss Table has been designed by Christopher Duffy for the London based Furniture design company Duffy London. This piece uses thick glass and layered wood to produce a 3D effect of a sea bed.

Abyss Table, details by Christopher Duffy:

“And when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you”

Duffy London made its name by fashioning remarkable designs out of thin air: the uplifting Up Table, that floats on a host of balloons; the Flying Carpet table, that hovers mysteriously above ground; the convivial Swing Table, circled by bobbing suspended chairs; the Shadow Chair, perfectly poised on two legs. This autumn, Duffy casts an eye downwards – looking to the depths of the ocean to dream up a dramatic new coffee table, that introduces the majesty of the big blue to the interior… As well as servicing you with somewhere impressive to put your cup of tea.

Like all of Duffy’s designs, the Abyss Table is a conversation piece as much as a functional one. But while previous works play with gravity, this new design is concerned with depth, and creates a geological cross-section as mesmerising as the sea. Designer Christopher Duffy explains:

‘I was looking into sheets of thick glass at my glass manufacturer’s factory, and noticed how the material darkened as they added more layers – the same way the sea does as it deepens. I wanted to use this effect to replicate a real piece of the earth’s sea bed. Like a mythical power had lifted a perfect rectangle straight from the earth’s crust to use as his personal ornament.’

The design team spent a year developing the table in their London studio, experimenting with sculpted glass, Perspex and wood, arranged like a 3-D representation of a geological map, until they re-created something of the mesmeric abyss that had first captured Duffy’s imagination.

The Abyss Table is hand made to order in London from sustainable materials, and limited to an edition of 25.

Materials: High grade wood from Forest Stewardship Council managed forests and other controlled sources, glass.
Dimensions: (L)160cm (W)80cm (H)46cm
Additional Information: The Abyss Table is limited to 25 editions.

Photos By: Duffy London