Lot: 787

Louis Majorelle, Nancy
Showcase, 1903

H. 199 cm, 131.5 x 46.5 cm. Mahogany, carved, floral motif. Glass, bronze rails. Back and floor of the box covered with light-coloured raw silk.

Louis Majorelle discovered his artistic streak very early in his father's company. The elder Majorelle owned a well-known carpentry and ceramics factory in Nancy. When he took over the company at the age of 20, Louis initially followed the prevailing historicism and mainly copied furniture from the Louis XV era. Following the Lorraine tradition, Majorelle also placed great emphasis on high-quality materials and workmanship, functionality and - as far as seating furniture was concerned - comfort of the furniture. In the mid-1890s, the new Art Nouveau trend found its way into Majorelle's factory. Like his contemporary and competitor Emile Gallé, he began to look for models in nature, less in form than in decor, and to incorporate the motifs into his furniture designs. His marqueteries are made of the highest quality root wood. In the new century he soon succeeded in setting himself apart from his competitors and finding his own style. Our showcase is a fine example of this development at Majorelle. The organic, at the same time stable forms remain, high-quality carvings only accentuate the form, fittings, mostly made of gold-plated bronze, come to the fore as decorative elements. A square, free-standing showcase of the same model was exhibited at the Exposition de l'Ecole de Nancy in Paris in 1903. In it lighting fixtures from the Daum Frères were presented with frames from the metalworking branch of the Majorelle company.

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Hammer Price: 30,000 €