Art Nouveau Basilisk Repoussé Box by Alfred Daguet

Alfred Louis Achille Daguet was a metalsmith active in Paris during the first part of the 20th century. His metalwork created prior to the outbreak of World War I, noteworthy for its versatility and virtuosity, is among the most sought-after by collectors today.

Daguet mined many sources for inspiration be they Egyptian, Celtic, Japanese, Byzantine, Medieval or contemporary. He received formal training under the painters Jean-Léon Gérôme and Georges Clairin, both academicians associated with the Ecole des Beaux-Arts who had traveled to Egypt and explored themes of Orientalism in their work.

Daguet’s studio in Paris was located at 22 rue de Provence, just above Siegfried Bing’s influential L’Art Nouveau boutique. It is this association with Bing that is most significant to Daguet’s metier and what firmly places his work in art historical context.

As a promoter and purveyor of Japanese objects, Bing capitalized on the craze for Japonisme by expanding his commercial galleries from 1895–1904 to include artist workshops capable of making everything conceivable to create harmonious interior spaces. Daguet’s finely-worked repousse copper sheets clad many decorative letter and desk boxes sold at Bing’s shop in the early-1900s. These boxes which Daguet often further embellished with colored glass unquestionably reflect the tenets of the Art Nouveau aesthetic.

In addition to boasting famous clientele such as Sarah Bernhardt who followed him to his studio on rue du Faubourg Saint-Jaques following Bing’s death in 1905 and the closure of his store, l’Art Nouveau, Daguet’s work achieved critical success with inclusion in group expositions at the Musee Galliera in Paris and elsewhere.

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(Biography provided by Galerie Fledermaus)