Henry Dasson

HENRY DASSON (Paris, 1825- Saint-Germain en Laye, 1896).
Gueridon.
In mahogany wood, gilt bronze and marble.
Signed and numbered on the back.
It shows marks of use and wear.
Measurements: 75 x 40 x 40 cm.

Gueridon of historicist style, work of the cabinetmaker Henry Dasson. It rises on sable feet joined with mahogany chambrana that works as a lower shelf. The double gilt bronze legs emulate bamboo canes and support a marbled marble top. The ensemble is light and elegant.

Henry Dasson was one of the most acclaimed bronze and cabinet makers of the second half of the 19th century. Author of ornamental works and furniture of great quality, always within a historicist style, he also made singular works such as the tomb of Adélaïde Louis Jeanne Victoire Herbemont, in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, cast by him and designed by the sculptor Léopold Morice. Dasson showed his works in various exhibitions of the time, being always awarded and highly valued by critics. His participation in the Universal Exhibition of Paris in 1878, where he was congratulated by prominent figures of the time such as Louis Gonse, is especially noteworthy. He was later awarded the Grand Prix Artistique, among other prizes, and was named knight of the French Legion of Honor. For the realization of his pieces, Dasson was interested in the works of art of the past, especially those of the time of Louis XVI, the time of development of French neoclassicism. His ornamental vases, furniture and lighting pieces were in great demand at the time, both by the French clientele and in the rest of the world. Active in Paris, he not only made historicist pieces, inspired by the works of the 17th and 18th centuries, but also reproductions of the furniture of the courts of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. His works are always characterized by the high quality of their execution, and his extraordinary mercury-gilded bronzes are particularly noteworthy in this regard. Dasson was a more than worthy continuator of Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen, whose business he acquired after the latter's death in 1870. Even earlier in his early career, he had won the favor and recognition of the French aristocracy as a cabinetmaker, and in fact was the personal cabinetmaker to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. Like many others, the empress was impressed by Dasson's skill and refinement, and commissioned a large number of pieces for the decoration of her royal residences. She also counted among her clients the British royal family. Dasson's works are now housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among other notable public and private collections.