A Rare Art Deco Jewel on View in New York for a Limited Time
Now on view at New York’s Winter Antiques Show is a must-see, rare jewel of Art Deco lacquer, complete with Japanese fish. Jean Dunand’s Templeton-Crocker breakfast room is one-third of the French master’s most important commission in the United States, and it is fully installed at the show, courtesy of Maison Gerard.
Dunand, widely considered the most important designer of French Art Deco, received the commission in 1928, which also included a bedroom and dining room for the San Francisco penthouse belonging to Charles Templeton Crocker. A self-proclaimed explorer, Templeton Crocker was grandson to Charles Crocker, one of the “big four” founders of the Central Pacific Railroad. The apartment is significant historically, as one of the earliest luxury apartments in the U.S. completed in the modern style, as well as aesthetically, named “perhaps the most beautiful apartment in the world” by Vogue in 1929.
The breakfast room’s eight lacquered wood panels form a rich, octagonal oasis, with a smattering of intricately painted glimmering Japanese fish and classic Deco motifs. The panels were removed from the Templeton Crocker apartment in 1999, and were subsequently owned by renowned jeweler Fred Leighton, who installed them in his Madison Avenue boutique to form the VIP salon and viewing room. A fitting setting for fine gems and breakfasts alike, if you weren’t already planning to visit the Winter Antiques Show, this exceptional feat of Art Deco design is reason enough.
Images courtesy Maison Gerard.
On view at Maison Gerard, Winter Antiques Show, Booth 4, Park Avenue Armory, New York, Jan. 24th–Feb. 2nd, 2014.
