Lot 17
17
PIERRE LEGRAIN (1888–1929)
On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial int… Read more PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE AMERICAN COLLECTION
PIERRE LEGRAIN (1888–1929)

A UNIQUE FLATWARE SERVICE AND CANTEEN, 1920-25

Details
PIERRE LEGRAIN (1888–1929)
A UNIQUE FLATWARE SERVICE AND CANTEEN, 1920-25
executed by Jean E. Puiforcat and Robert Linzeler
the service: silver, steel, bakelite, ebony
the canteen: sycamore, nickel plated metal

comprising:
24 table knives, forks and spoons
24 dessert knives, forks and spoons
18 fruit knives and forks
12 ice cream spoons
12 coffee spoons
with marks of Jean E. Puiforcat, Robert Linzeler and French hall mark
Provenance
Jeanne Tachard;
Thence by descent;
Anne-Sophie Duval, Paris;
Private collection, Europe;
Christie's, London, A Private European Collection of French 20th Century
Decorative Arts, 10 May 2000, lot 34;
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Literature
G. Varenne, 'Quelques ensembles de Pierre Legrain', L'Amour de L'Art, December ,1924, pp. 401-408.
Special notice
On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the sale of certain lots consigned for sale. This will usually be where it has guaranteed to the Seller that whatever the outcome of the auction, the Seller will receive a minimum sale price for the work. This is known as a minimum price guarantee. This is a lot where Christie’s holds a direct financial guarantee interest.

Lot Essay

This service is part of a large and important commission made by Pierre Legrain for Madame Jeanne Tachard for her villa at La Celle-Saint-Cloud. The original commission comprised two canteens, one containing coral bakelite handled pieces, presented here, the other with green bakelite handled items. Legrain was introduced to Madame Tachard by the celebrated couturier Jacques Doucet for whom he had already been working closely for years.

Discussing Legrain’s furniture and schemes for the villa in L’Amour de l’Art, the critic Gaston Varenne notes ‘here Legrain has truly expressed the full measure of his talent’ and highlights Legrain’s ability to reinvent himself and his design vocabulary, drawing a parallel with the cubists’ search for a new formal language.

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