How did Meret Oppenheim use found objects in Object from 1936?

In her iconic 1936 work, Object, Meret Oppenheim utilized the Surrealist technique of creating assemblages by taking familiar, mundane items and recontextualizing them to evoke a startling or irrational response.12

The inspiration for the piece arose during a casual conversation in a Paris café with Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar, where Oppenheim discussed the idea of covering everyday objects in fur. Following this, she selected a standard teacup, saucer, and spoon and covered them entirely in Chinese gazelle fur.1

By transforming these domestic, functional objects into a fur-covered sculpture, Oppenheim removed them from their normal context, creating a piece that was both shocking and evocative. The work became a defining emblem of the Surrealist movement, with André Breton later titling it Le Déjeuner en fourrure (“Luncheon in Fur”), referencing both Édouard Manet’s famous painting and the erotic novella Venus in Furs.12