JEAN DUNAND | "PANTHÈRE" COFFRET

Collection of Félix Marcilhac, Paris

Private Collection, New York

Sotheby’s Monaco, October 8, 1977, lot 84

Collection of Marsha Miro, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Christie's New York, December 9, 2014, lot 538

Félix Marcilhac, Jean Dunand: His Life and Works, London, 1991, p. 107, no. 99; p. 268, no. 605

Throughout his prolific career, Jean Dunand maintained close professional relationships with many of his contemporaries, such as Jean Goulden, Jean Lambert-Rucki and Gustave Miklos. He also collaborated with furniture designers on the creation of specially-commissioned decorative panels in lacquered wood and metal for such established figures as Eugène Printz and Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, attesting to his strong reputation as an artist in his own right. The present lot, an extraordinary coffret in lacquered wood incorporating rich layers of gold, silver and red lacquer, was created in partnership with the painter and sculptor Paul Jouve, one of Dunand’s closest friends and collaborators. Jouve, an animalier best known for his dramatic and expressive depictions of exotic animals informed by his travels to Western Asia and the Far East (see lot 15), designed the superb panther featured on the cover of the coffret. Jouve and Dunand exhibited together for over a decade at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris, which exulted their creative collaboration and resulted in the creation of what are now perceived as some of the most iconic pieces of decorative arts from the 1920s. Such pieces include decorative panels and monumental screens, where Jouve’s majestic big cats were prominently placed against deep black backgrounds. The present lot displays Dunand’s magnificent use of bright red lacquer, which provides a striking background for the stunning animal. The panther’s skin, adorned with intricate abstract motifs, shimmers in black, gold and silver lacquer. A later base made with highly textural ébène de Macassar complements the coffret, further elevating its powerful visual presentation as a work of art.