JEAN DUNAND | LOW TABLE

Delorenzo Gallery, New York

Collection of Steven A. Greenberg, New York

Christie's New York, The Steven A. Greenberg Collection: Masterpieces of French Art Deco, December 12, 2012, lot 44

Jean Dunand, exh. cat., Delorenzo Gallery, New York, 1985, p. 47 (for the present lot illustrated)

Félix Marcilhac, Jean Dunand: His Life and Works, London, 1991, p. 247, no. 435 (for a related example)

In addition to the lacquered metal technique that he perfected towards the end of the 1910s, another important technique synonymous with Jean Dunand is his signature use of coquille d’œuf, or eggshell decoration. The laborious process began with cleaning the eggshells, removing their inner membranes, then delicately crushing them into minute fragments to be sorted according to size. Each particle was then applied to a freshly lacquered surface using tweezers. Coquille d’œuf was often combined with lacquered metal, resulting in highly textured pieces with rich geometric presence, producing dramatic contrast against the dark lacquered surface. The instant commercial success of Dunand’s eggshell works prompted the artist to maintain a chicken coop in his workshop’s courtyard to meet the increasing demand. Some of the most striking eggshell works produced by Dunand in the mid-1920s are represented in this tremendous ensemble of unique pieces ranging from a low table (lot 5) to lacquered metal vases and table articles (lots 2, 21-25, 32-33) and a rare lacquered ceramic vase (lot 34). These works display bold and abstract motifs created with the minutious precision of an artist who truly mastered his craft. This curated selection supports Dunand’s reputation as one of the greatest decorative artists of his generation, providing collectors with a rare opportunity to acquire some of the craftsman’s most extraordinary masterworks in the eggshell technique.