Pierre-Emile Legrain (attr.) Pair of French Art Deco drop and roll front cabinets c. 1927
PIERRE-EMILE LEGRAIN attr. (1889-1929) France
Matching Cabinets (pair) c. 1927
Golden cerused oak, roll-front and drop front doors,
original brass keys, reeded base
Provenance: Felix Marcilhac, Paris
For more information on Legrain see: Pierre-Emile Legrain 1889-1929 (Paris: exh. cat. Galerie Jacques de Vos,1996); Union des Artistes Modernes, Arlette Barré-Despond (Paris: Editions du Regard, 1986) 119-120.
H: 50 1/2 ” x W: 23 1/2” x D: 11 1/2”
The Art Deco movement centered in early 20th-century Paris sought to bridge the transition from academic art and craftsmanship to modern art and industrial production. Regarded by some as one of its founders, Pierre-Emile Legrain (1889-1929) worked at a time of great ferment in art, as well as in society. Legrain’s curiosity and receptiveness to these changes led him to adapt forms, materials and techniques from other cultures.
Legrain created two distinct bodies of work: an assemblage of approximately 1,200 bookbinding designs and a much smaller production of furniture made for couturiers in the French fashion trade. Both artistic endeavors shared fine craftsmanship, masterful use of rare and expensive materials, unusual combinations of textures and surfaces, and spare, geometrical forms. Nearly all of his creations were one-of-a-kind.
Christopher Dresser / James Couper & Sons Aventurine blown glass Clutha vase c. 1895
CHRISTOPHER DRESSER (1834-1904) UK
JAMES COUPER & SONS Glasgow
Clutha vase c. 1895
Aventurine blown glass with iridescent gold streaks and internal bubbles
Illustration: Christopher Dresser, Widar Halen (Oxford: Phaidon, Christies Limited, 1990) p. 196, illust. 228.
For more information: Liberty Style: the classic years, 1898-1910, Mervyn Levy (New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1986); Christopher Dresser: the power of design, Christopher Wilk (New York: Zurland – Zabar, 1993).
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