Jean Després Hand Hammered Art Deco Bowl, France, Circa 1930

This spectacular bowl may have been produced as a unique or very limited commission. It bears two Després signatures on the underside of the base, as well as an additional initial stamp on the side of the bowl.

The broad, shallow vessel has a beautifully hand hammered surface, a technique frequently seen in Després’ work. Its restrained form is dramatically contrasted by the unusual base, composed of repeated spherical elements arranged in closely spaced rows. Light moving across these rounded forms creates continually changing highlights and shadows, giving the piece a remarkably sculptural presence.

Després often combined hammered and polished surfaces with bold decorative elements, including the heavy link motif known as gourmette. Here, the repeated spheres create a similarly rhythmic effect, transforming a functional bowl into a sophisticated work of decorative art.

The scale, workmanship, and unusual construction give this piece an exceptional visual character. It is both a striking centerpiece and an important example of French modernist metalwork from the Art Deco period.

The piece offered here has an exceptional feeling. The treatment of the repeated circular balls on the base cast a very unusual visual treatment of shades and effect. Many pieces developed with his signature the addition of a heavy link chain called “gormette”. This adorned many of his pieces and played very well against both polished and hammered surfaces, and these pieces were in great demand, and remain so today. His jewelry perfectly expressed the new esthetic of the time.  He participated in a number of exhibitions, and his jewelry was very well received. His revolutionary jewelry designs were of three types – “bijoux glaces”, “bijoux moteurs”, and “bijoux ceramique”.

Desprès enjoyed using unusual materials in his jewelry. In 1937, he designed a series of pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and pins that incorporated ceramic medallions in the neo-classical style executed by the ceramicist Jean Mayodon. He was nicknamed “the Picasso of jewelry work”, and exhibited in all the important national and international exhibitions, and won numerous prizes. His work was appreciated by, (and purchased by) many important writers and artists- Anatole France, Paul Signac, Francois Pompon, the influential critic and curator Andre Malraux, and more recently, Andy Warhol, who was an enthusiastic collector of his jewelry and boxes. Moving on through the 1940s, ’50s, and into the 1970s, his work became somewhat less complex, relying more on a hammered surface with perhaps a simple motif, and he also produced some interesting pieces in 18k gold, but most of the later pieces do not have the originality and power of his earlier designs.

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