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Tea and Coffee Service

Designer Jean E. Puiforcat French
ca. 1922
Not on view
Puiforcat's name is synonymous with Art Deco glamour; even in his day, the important French silversmith was renowned for the elegant, often mathematical simplicity of his geometric forms and the unexpected combination of flawless metalwork with brilliantly polished hard stones, semiprecious stones, or glass. This tea and coffee service shows one of Puiforcat’s earliest attempts to break away from the preceding generation’s taste for naturalism; the only vestiges are the lapis lazuli blossoms acting as knobs on the lids. The introduction of lapis lazuli on this service is decorative as well as practical, adding to the insulating effect of the ivory spacers that separate the handles from the hot pots; the hard-stone handles remain naturally cool to the touch.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tea and Coffee Service
  • Designer: Jean E. Puiforcat (French, Paris 1897–1945 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1922
  • Medium: Silver, lapis lazuli, ivory, gold
  • Dimensions: see dimensions for individual object records
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Edward C. Moore Jr. Gift, 1925
  • Object Number: 23.177.1ab-3;25.230.1ab–4
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Henri-Joseph Harpignies
1856
Coffee service, Johan Henrik Blom Finish, Silver, parcel gilt, enamel, wood, Russian, St. Petersburg
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1773
Beaker, Jean E. Puiforcat French, Silver, French
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Glass Horn
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