Powder Puff, A Cold-Painted, Black Marble, Nickel-Plated and Mirrored Sculpture

By Ferdinand Preiss, circa 1930

With engraved signature F. Preiss.

12 ¼ in (31 cm) high

cf. Alberto Shayo, Ferdinand Preiss, Art Deco Sculptor: The fire and the flame, 2005, p.182 - for an illustration of a similar model

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At the 1900 Paris Exhibition, Gallé exhibited a similar commode called Ipomoea, which was well received, and is now in the collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Its exhibition inspired the commission of the present commode, Nocturne, for the important collector Henry Hirsch of Nancy. Hirsch did not like the discrete marquetry on the Ipomoea commode, so requested something different. The same framework was used but the morning glories on the broad panels of the Ipomoea were replaced by chrysanthemums and a mother-of-pearl butterfly. It is believed that no other Nocturne commode was ever made and this piece can be regarded as an undiscovered treasure.