Box of the Illuminati

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Alfred Daguet
Box of the Illuminati
ca 1904

About the Item

Made while his studio was located above the famous S. Bing l’Art Nouveau salon in Paris, this metal-hinged wood box is an excellent example of Alfred Daguet’s work. What unifies this piece is the repeating Eye of Providence motif to which Daguet applies colored glass cabochons. At the center is a large green glass cabochon encased by a triangle which in turn is enclosed by a circle. Daguet’s is a stylized version of the symbol of Divine Providence often used by and associated with the Illuminati and other related Enlightenment and mystic orders such as the Freemasons, the Martinist Order, and the Mystic Order of the Rose Croix. It was this latter group, championed by self-proclaimed High Priest, Josephin Peladin, which organized six well-attended salons in Paris throughout the 1890s in an effort to nullify the prevailing and conservative Academie des Beaux Arts and vilify the materialism-based culture embodied by Naturalism and the Impressionist style. Not simply revivalist in nature, these avant-garde artists of the Rose-Croix looked back to the past in an effort to discover lost truths. Often, there was a religious component to this quest for a higher truth. So rather than giving a copy of a scene from daily life as the Impressionists were keen to do, many of the Symbolist artists associated with the Salons of the Rose Croix looked to Nature as a means of discovering the Divine. Along with Kabbalist practice, alchemy, and numerology, these mystics believed the secrets of a higher order could be revealed by meditating upon these symbols. It is not known whether Daguet, himself, was directly associated with one of these mystic societies; however as an artist active in Paris during this time, he surely was well-versed and sympathetic to their message. In addition to the central eye motif, Daguet plays with the number 12, considered to be a perfect number by mystics. 12 distinct sections make up the metal glory surrounding the central Eye of Providence, and this is repeated by the 12 glass cabochons surrounding it. The remaining Eyes of Providence found on the box build upon the power of 12 and total 24. Daguet echoes this numerical relationship by embellishing the inside of the box around the metal locking mechanism with a wood burning tool. Three lines emanate from four distinct areas, once again totaling the divine number 12. To those for whom this esoteric message resonated, Daguet’s box was indeed an artistic meditation in Theosophy. Alfred Louis Achille DAGUET (1875 - 1942) was a metalsmith active in Paris during the first part of the 20th century. His metalwork created prior to the outbreak of World War I, noteworthy for its versatility and virtuosity, is the most sought-after among collectors today. Daguet mined many sources for inspiration be they Egyptian, Celtic, Japanese, Byzantine, Medieval or contemporary. He received formal training under the painters, Gerome and Clairin, both academicians associated with the Ecole des Beaux-Arts who had traveled to Egypt and explored themes of orientalism in their work. Daguet’s studio in Paris was located at 22 rue de Provence, just above Siegfried Bing’s influential L’Art Nouveau boutique. It is this association with Bing that is most significant to Daguet’s metier and what firmly places his work in art historical context. As a promoter and purveyor of Japanese objects, Bing capitalized on the craze for japonisme by expanding his commercial galleries from 1895-1904 to include artist workshops capable of making everything conceivable to create harmonious interior spaces. Daguet’s finely-worked repousse copper sheets clad many decorative letter and desk boxes sold at Bing’s shop in the early-1900s. These boxes which Daguet often further embellished with colored glass unquestionably reflect the tenets of the Art Nouveau aesthetic. In addition to boasting famous clientele such as Sarah Bernhardt who followed him to his studio on rue du Faubourg Saint-Jaques following Bing’s death in 1905 and the closure of his store, l’Art Nouveau, Daguet’s work achieved critical success with inclusion in group expositions at the Musee Galliera, Paris, 1905, 1926; Salons of the Societe des Artistes Francais: 1900, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1909, 1910; and the Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1901.

Creator:
Alfred Daguet (1875 - 1942, French)
Creation Year:
ca 1904
Dimensions:
Height: 2.63 in (6.69 cm)Width: 9.25 in (23.5 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Medium:
Copper,Glass,Wood
Movement & Style:
Art Nouveau
Period:
1900-1909
Condition:
Signed and dated, Alfred Daguet, Paris, 1904.
Gallery Location:
Chicago, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU46731310653