A collector’s guide to Jean Dunand

Jean Dunand is widely considered one of the Art Deco era’s pre-eminent artists and designers. His works graced the homes of the leading aesthetes of his day, and his vases, screens and other designs remain popular fixtures in distinguished collections today. Thanks to his extraordinary eye and hand, the Swiss-born French artist was also selected for numerous public commissions, including world’s fairs.

‘What makes Dunand so special is the refinement of his technique,’ says Daphné Riou, global co-head of Christie’s Design department. ‘His iconography is very much in line with the 1920s: geometric and graphic, but with very modern and pure lines. The shapes are simple yet chic, so they go really well with contemporary art and add a sophisticated touch to any interior.’

Here, we examine Dunand’s career, exploring the many techniques and materials he mastered, the influence of Asian art on his work, and how he responded to the artistic movements of his time.

His range was extremely wide

Dunand was the son of a goldsmith and later trained as a sculptor, working across categories and constantly evolving as an artist. From dresses and belt buckles to tables and armoires, all the pieces he produced were exquisitely crafted, but it was his vases and screens that were — and remain — his most sought-after creations. On several occasions, he was commissioned to design entire rooms full of his panels, for both private residences and commercial spaces. For example, between 1925 and 1926, at the height of his career, he created a music room for Mr and Mrs Solomon Guggenheim.

He was a pioneer of dinanderie

Early on, Dunand developed a fascination with metals, and prior to the First World War, he became the most brilliant dinandier, or worker in non-precious metals, of his era. The unique finish of his metal vessels resulted from extensive research into and experimentation with patination. Dinanderie involves creating a structure by applying single sheets of metal and then delicately hammering other metals on top to add further decoration. Dunand and Claudius Linossier, a decade later, were considered the masters of this technique.

He was taught lacquerwork by Seizo Sugawara

Born in Johoji, Japan, and trained as a lacquerer, Seizo Sugawara came to Paris to curate the lacquerware in the Japanese exhibition at the 1900 Exposition Universelle. He decided to stay, hoping to make a living teaching the skills of his profession. Around 1908, Eileen Gray became Sugawara’s first prominent student, and she introduced him to Dunand. In 1912, the two men came to an agreement: Sugawara would teach Dunand the secrets of lacquering metal, and Dunand would give Sugawara classes in dinanderie.

Sugawara gave Dunand 13 lessons over two months, and he quickly mastered the medium. In short order, Dunand became one of the first Western artists to master urushi — the Japanese word for both the sap used to make the lacquer and the finished object itself. Dunand opened a lacquer studio in his workshop shortly after the First World War, and his lacquer works remain some of his most desirable pieces today.

Eggshell became a signature material

Dunand was the first to use crushed eggshell as a decorative element in his designs, and it soon became a signature speciality of his workshop. The process entailed delicately transferring individual pieces of broken eggshell onto lacquer to create bold, geometric inlaid motifs. The background lacquer was often black for the most striking visual effect, with additional layers of clear lacquer helping to protect the designs. Dunand’s objects combining eggshell and lacquer, whether vases or tabletops, became so popular that he kept a chicken coop in the courtyard of his workshop to meet the demand.

He had an affinity with avant-garde art movements

In the 1920s, Jean Dunand’s works were exhibited at the legendary Galerie Georges Petit, known for its championing of French Impressionism and later avant-garde artists, including Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. ‘The decoration of Dunand’s vases often has a geometric look to it that is somewhere between Futurism and Cubism,’ says Riou. ‘You can tell he was looking at the art of his time and breaking away to create something modern and graphic.’

Dunand frequently collaborated with other Art Deco makers, such as Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Armand-Albert Rateau, and Pierre Legrain, decorating their pieces with his metal or lacquerwork. In June 2019, a cabinet from around 1937 by Dunand and master furniture designer Eugène Printz was sold at Christie’s in New York. Achieving $5,496,000 against an estimate of $300,000-500,000, the work established world auction records for both Dunand and Printz. The absence of detailing on the structure is counterpointed by the panelled façade’s geometric patterning, with the angled metal leaves suggesting the folds of a screen.

The year 1925 was an important milestone

From April to November 1925, the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts took place in Paris. One of the best-known exhibits was a proposal for a French embassy interior, for which Dunand designed a smoking room entirely adorned with lacquered panels. Dunand was appointed vice president of the section for the fair devoted to metal and was commissioned to create four monumental vases to decorate the courtyard of the Pavillon des Métiers d’Art. Two of these vases later entered the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, and sold in 2009 for €3,089,000 in the Collection Yves Saint Laurent et Pierre Bergé sale at Christie’s in Paris.

His themes were as varied as his materials

While Dunand’s motifs and imagery were often abstract and geometric, he did occasionally include elegant female forms in his work, and even specific portraits, most notably of dancer Josephine Baker. His wide-ranging subject matter is further exemplified by his work for the transatlantic ocean liner the SS Normandie. Launched in 1932 and entering service in 1935, this luxurious vessel represented the very best in French Art Deco design. Its exuberant construction, which saw unique commissions from René Lalique and Jean Dupas, among other leading artists and designers, was justified as an expression of French patriotism. Dunand was commissioned to design the ship’s first-class smoking room, which included 18 panels in gold and coloured lacquer on the subject of la conquête du cheval (‘the conquest of the horse’).

This was a recurring subject in Dunand’s work, largely derived from its frequent depiction in Asian art. Dunand was interested in conveying movement and layers of perspective through the display of multiple horses. Other animals, as well as stylised flora, also appeared in his designs.

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