Baguès

A design for a wall light
for Chanel, 1940.
Image:  1stDibs.

My friend and sometimes collaborator Hector Alexander recently snagged a drop-dead low table during the opening minutes of an estate sale that had been produced by the elite firm Maison Baguès.  Still in business and noted for its distinctive (and often copied) light fixtures, the atelier once also produced a line of accessory tables.


A bronze low table
with a lacquer top.
Image:  Elle Décor.

Either a palm frond or bamboo motif were popular leg forms for these tables.  Hector's low table in the form as shown above has a clear glass top, but the same model with the original smoky antique mirror top was offered in 2002 by Malmaison Antiques in NYC for $20,000.


A small tripod table
in the bamboo motif
with a marble top.
Image:  1stDibs.

Noël Baguès started a firm in Paris around 1860 that produced bronze candlesticks and other items used in Christian worship services.


An advertisement for Eugene Baguès.
Image:  eBay.

 

Eugene Baguès in his New York office.
Image:  Elle Décor.

His son Eugene introduced bronze light fixtures in 1880.  In turn, Eugene's sons Victor and Robert expanded the lighting collection in the 1920s and added gilded iron fixtures as well.  At one time, there were additional retail branches in New York, London, Brussels, Rome, and Cairo.


The Galleon chandelier
is one of the signature pieces of
Maison Baguès.

Although the company went under the control of bankers during The Great Depression, Victor's son Jean-Pierre was able to eventually buy back the company in 1957 and revived the collection and also made new introductions.
 


A sconce for seven candles in the popular
double parakeet form.  Also available
in a number of variations, this sconce
is the most copied by other makers.
Image:  Elle Décor.

When Jean-Pierre Baguès retired in 1995, his successor Mr. Souriou relocated the business to Viaduc des Arts in Paris, an area of fine metal-workers.  In 2007, a second location was added to make large chandeliers and other products.


An inventive model using the bamboo motif
in gilt and patinated bronze.
Image:  Elle Décor.

In 2011 Mr. Gesteau formed an association with the maker of decorative cabinet hardware Bronzes of France.  Some pages of a vintage Baguès catalog may be seen on the web site of Riad Kneife here, a reference for some of the dates and names associated with the firm.  The current catalog of Maison Baguès may be seen here. 


A mirror of eglomise glass
in a giltwood frame.
Image:  Elle Décor.

One of the best customers of Maison Baguès was the legendary decorating firm Maison Jansen.  Since Jansen furnishings are highly prized, vintage Baguès pieces on the market today are often advertised as "supplied by Jansen" or "Jansen Style".  Baguès items were seldom marked or labeled with the maker's name, which also leads to mis-identification.  Chic antique shops in New York City such as David Duncan Antiques, R. Louis Bofferding, and Malmaison Antiques often have Baguès light fixtures and occasional tables among their offerings.  And occasionally, the furnishings come up at Sotheby's and Christie's auctions.  Estate sales are generally less dependable as a source, but it helps to have a keen, educated eye like Hector.