S.A.M. no. 506 table, 1951
Derived from the prewar prototype, the metal version of the dining table base was finalized in 1951. This was a demountable model, as evidenced by the protrusion of the cap-ends where the crossmember frame meets the brace connecting the bent steel legs. This base was attached to the crosspieces of the upper frame with brackets and screws. Except for the rounded outer edge of the legs, the profiles and proportions are similar to those of the S.A.M. no. 502 wooden table. Of the options for the top, the most frequent was plain or imitation-granite bent sheet aluminum, set on a steel support structure comprising four U-traverses. The metal parts of this model—S.A.M. Tropique no. 503—were often lacquered with contrasting colors. 90 examples were made in 1951. On the version S.A.M. no. 506, the steel frame supported a solid or laminated wood top with or without metal traverses. In the latter case—a small batch made for Air France Congo, in Brazzaville, early in 1952—the legs were screwed directly onto the underside of the laminated top or set into the tops made of solid wood. An all-aluminum variant was designed in 1954 for which a prototype was made. Jean Prouvé also produced drafts of several cast-aluminum bases, to which he returned in 1980 as part of a planned series