The Musée des Arts Décoratifs has maintained close ties with Christofle since the second half of the 19th century. It is celebrating the goldsmith's creations and expertise with the largest exhibition ever dedicated to this factory, which has a rich history spanning almost two hundred years.
Since its foundation in the 1830s, this lineage of silversmiths, created by Charles Christofle and continued by Henri Bouilhet, has transformed the lines and decorations of silver to adapt them to everyday life. In collaboration with the greatest designers such as Luc Lanel, Gio Ponti, Andrée Putman and Karl Lagerfeld, Christofle is an artistic laboratory that revolutionises traditional goldsmithing by renewing its uses and adorning it with unprecedented colours and decorations.
The rich iconography of the exhibition catalogue invites us to discover some of the most remarkable pieces. In doing so, it transports us into the splendour of great restaurants and palaces such as the Ritz, and legendary trains, liners and planes, such as the Orient-Express, the Normandie and the Concorde. Moreover, it brings us into places of political power, all equipped by Christofle, ambassador in France and abroad of the art of living and luxury "ą la franēaise".
Through 13 thematic essays divided into four chapters, this book traces the extraordinary destiny of the House of Christofle. Sixty-one notes cover the history of the decorative arts through goldsmithing, from historicism to Japonism, from Art Nouveau to Art Deco, from 1950s design to the most contemporary.
A history of heritage
Christofle, a heritage house
Christofle and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs
Technical excellence
The technique: electrolysis, cutlery and electroplating
In search of colour
Masterpieces of the Universal Exhibitions from 1851 to 1925
International emulation
Production for every table
Goldsmiths to kings, emperors and presidents
The conquest of the bourgeoisie
Christofle on land, at sea and in the air
A laboratory for artists
1830 - early 20th century
Gallery rue Royale
From Art Deco to New Forms, 1920-1950
Star designers, 1960 to the present day
Under the direction of Audrey Gay-Mazuel, curator of the XIXe-Art nouveau collections at the Musée des Arts décoratifs. Essays by Caroline Radenac, Audrey Gay-Mazuel, Clara Villani, Étienne Tornier, Anne Dion, Virginie Desrante, Astrid Grange, Anaļs Alchus, Marie-Liesse Boquien, Julie Verlaine, Sophie Dumas, Laurence Bartoletti.
