Saturday, April 27, 2013

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.

14 comments:

  1. I remember walking down the circular staircase in Doris Dukes FALCON LAIR, the Legendary home of Rudolph Valentino...lit by the most beautiful Bagues Galleon floating chandelier! Literally transported me across Oceans of Fabled Nights.

    Love your decorative history lessons...always an acolyte.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Falcon Lair (sigh). The galleon chandelier has gotten a bit of a bad rap because most people don't know how to use it. However, this sounds lovely.

      I wanted to feature Maison Bagues as part of my unofficial 'the more you know' educational campaign. Thanks for commenting, Swan.

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  2. A neighbour has the Galleon hanging in her dressing room and though one does see it in magazines, photographs do not do justice to the beauty of the thing. It is magnificent. The tripod table is perhaps one of the most copied things in the world of decorating catalogues but the original beats them all.

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    Replies
    1. Blue, you have some chic neighbors. But I suppose I already knew that. All the Baguès products look better in person, I would venture to say. Thank you for commenting.

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  3. Interesting point, John, about the confusion over attribution to Jansen and the received
    notion that Bagues and Jansen were somehow interchangeable. If ever there were a symbiotic relationship in terms of style, it is this pairing. It would seem that the Jansen
    association lent authority to Bagues, which on its own may have tipped in the direction
    of kitsch (on occasion). That we now associate Bagues with timeless chic, owes everything to Jansen. Or so it seems to me. I recall seeing a pair of Bagues sconces
    in Ronnie Grimaldi's apartment where they were entirely at home in a setting of
    unabashed urban chic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Toby, had I not been familiar with the galleon chandelier, I might have been skeptical from just the description. Indeed, it is one of those things that could have gone horribly wrong. Same for their tole hot-air balloon chandelier; the original model is charming (used in the right location) but poor knock-offs have tainted the idea.

      And bravo on adding your photo. As always, your comments are greatly appreciated.

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  4. I adore his designs, but then again, I adore everything you post and enlighten us with. I didn't know Blue had such chic neighbors either. Now I am going to have to think twice before I invite him again for lunch at my humble abode....

    That is not the Hector I met? He also has impeccable taste, and at such a young age.

    Thanks John, most delightful.

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    Replies
    1. Julieta, with your great talent in cuisine, you have nothing to fear in inviting guests for lunch! I am happy to have an outlet for my information, so I am glad you appreciate these essays. And yes, the one and only, Hector.

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  5. There is nothing quite equal to a Bagues fixture--I think that it is the touch of whimsy make these pieces so desirable. They have definitely stood the test of time. Great post.

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    Replies
    1. Mary, I agree. I think sometimes a relief from being quite so serious offers a much-welcome freshness. Thank you for commenting.

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  6. John,

    I've always admired the way the crystal elements seem to appear as "rock" crystal- my favourite!

    Dean

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    Replies
    1. Dean, one can never have too much rock crystal. Thanks for your comment.

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  7. The Chanel Sconce is simply breath taking.

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    Replies
    1. Linenqueen, I am not sure that any of these sconces, presumably for the Chanel boutique, were ever realized, with the invading Nazis and all that. But the combination of gilt iron and mirror ruby and clear glass would have been stunning. I appreciate your comment.

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