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“Perse” Grille

Designer Edgar Brandt French
ca. 1923
Not on view
Edgar Brandt, a superb craftsman who employed all the skills of the traditional French metalsmith, was one of the most accomplished exponents of the French Art Deco style. This grille combines stylized flower forms and rippling scalloped bands rendered in contrasting textures, forming a free pattern of extraordinary richness and creating a sense of highly charged motion. The floral motif evokes Persian miniature painting, reflected in its name.

The grille was presented to the public at the 1923 Salon d’Automne, one of the many annual exhibitions in Paris where visitors could see ensembles and room settings promoting the latest styles by the best-known French decorators. It was part of a larger grouping presented in an alcove and prosaically titled "Quelques Ferronneries" (Some Ironworks). The focal point was a monumental tripartite screen set into the alcove’s rear wall, flanked by two nearly identical grilles with mirror images of the same pattern. The grille acquired by The Met was installed at the alcove’s left. While a very similar grille by Brandt was published in 1925 as an "entrance door," none of these panels appear to have been conceived for this purpose. Brandt later added the stabilizing feet to The Met’s panel, allowing it to stand alone.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: “Perse” Grille
  • Designer: Edgar Brandt (French, Paris 1880–1960)
  • Date: ca. 1923
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Iron
  • Dimensions: 81 5/16 × 47 1/16 × 27 15/16 in., 603 lb. (206.5 × 119.5 × 71 cm, 273.5 kg)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Iron
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Edward C. Moore Jr. Gift, 1924
  • Object Number: 24.133
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Edgar Brandt / ADAGP, Paris / ARS, New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Chair, Edgar Brandt French, Iron, modern plasticized Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC-P) upholstery
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"La Fontaine" ("The Fountain") Fire Screen, Edgar Brandt French, Iron, French
"La Fontaine" ("The Fountain") Fire Screen
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Fourteen Designs for Furniture and Lighting Fixtures in Wrought Iron
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Elevation of a Double Wall Sconce with a Flower in a Basket, Edgar Brandt (and workshop) French, Black chalk over graphite underdrawing
Elevation of a Double Wall Sconce with a Flower in a Basket
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Elevation and Partial Plan for a Wrought-Iron Chandelier with Six Arms (No.11323.11), Edgar Brandt (and workshop) French, Black chalk over graphite underdrawing
Elevation and Partial Plan for a Wrought-Iron Chandelier with Six Arms (No.11323.11)
Edgar Brandt
ca. 1930–50

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