Enamel Plaque Depicting Napoleon Crossing the Alps, by Camille Fauré, circa 1930

Camille Faurè produced designs for Limoges, long famed for its enamels.

Born in Perigueux, France, in 1874, Faurè spent a long apprenticeship before setting up his own workshop at Limoges, where he worked for over fifty years. Fauré became Limoges’ most famous and talented enamel artist. He exhibited in the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, which gave Art Deco its name.

Faurè’s early work, like his post–World War II designs, involved large floral patterns, often in rich colors that kept in line with the Art Nouveau movement. He exhibited through his Paris shop, and produced vases, bowls, ashtrays, boxes and other items.

Faurè’s vases were made in many different shapes, including those of the gourd, kettledrum and egg, with geometric or stylized floral patterns. It was his geometric designs, however, which set him apart as the greatest creative enameller of the Art Deco style. These geometric designs included chevrons, lozenges, diagonal and stripe patterns and floral motifs, ranging from naturalistic to stylized patterns of leaves and flowers. The geometric patterns featured strong hues of blue, red, orange and yellow accented with blacks, whereas the floral patterns had more delicate hues such as turquoise, light blue, pink, lavender and white. Some vases had panels and borders of floral motifs combined with geometric stepped and angled motifs.

Using large vessels, vases, bowls or open-mouthed jardinières, the copper was covered in multiple layers of polychrome enamels in hard, vitreous, three-dimensional geometric designs of subtle complexity and color combinations. Faurè’s friend Marty occasionally worked with him in a very similar style. Both produced a small number of pendants in enameled gold, silver and copper.

Find a collection of Camille Faurè furniture and decorative objects on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Ophir Gallery)