Art Deco—defined by geometric shapes, abstract design, and lavish color—was the visual hallmark of luxury, glamour, and industrial progression. A product of innovative new machinery, economic growth, and social freedoms, the style was first introduced in France before World War I. However, it wasn’t until the 1920s, after the war, that it began to gain international traction. Antique and traditional techniques were revitalized as artists, designers, and architects applied the style across a broad range of visual fields, from opulent structures and interiors to fashionable handheld objects.
The Capstick-Dale collection illustrates forward-thinking artistry and mastery of materials on a small scale. From Jean Dunand’s fashionable eggshell technique to the exploration of lacquer techniques and engine-turned ornamentation, the objects in this auction are exquisitely detailed masterpieces of innovation and beauty.
It is in the realm of collectible objects that Art Deco has proved supreme. —Victor Arwas
Like priceless gems or tantalizing candies, the Art Deco treasures of the world-renowned Capstick-Dale Collection are small, colorful, and precious—portable emissaries of glamour, optimism, and exquisite craftsmanship arriving to the present from an era past. Encyclopedic in scope, this vast collection spans lighters and cigarette cases, minaudières, compacts, jewelry, and other personal accoutrements, together comprising a heralded and historically important group of objects sourced from around the globe and put together over the course of a lifetime. Documented in the Thames & Hudson volume Art Deco Collectibles and with examples from Jean Dunand, Raymond Templier, Gerard Sandoz, and Paul Brandt, among others, these works offer a truly illuminating glimpse of the Art Deco ethos and lifestyle. And while they are certainly a distinct product of a specific historical moment, they also speak to the timeless and universal allure of beautiful, small things to hold in one’s hand—or slyly retrieve from one’s pocket or purse.
Spanning from 1920 to the conclusion of World War II, the Art Deco era encapsulated a range of social shifts that, significantly, included an unprecedented marriage of design and manufacture. Resulting in what Jared Goss dubbed “the democratization of design,” this newly cemented partnership meant, as noted in Art Deco Collectibles, that “From the 1920s [on,] beautifully designed and well-made objects became widely available for the first time.” Marking a break from the ornate, flowery style of Art Nouveau, Art Deco aesthetics embraced linear geometries and influences that included Cubism, the Vienna Secession, Fauvism, and historic styles from China, Japan, India, Persia, and Egypt, as well as new materials including chrome, stainless steel, and plastic. With expert artisanry and manufacturing techniques to bring it all together, Art Deco objects embody the anticipation of a future whose doors had been flung wide open technologically and culturally.
With expert artisanry and manufacturing techniques to bring it all together, Art Deco objects embody the anticipation of a future whose doors had been flung wide open technologically and culturally.
While the Art Deco period ended when WWII shifted the attention of both consumers and manufacturers, the appreciation for the era’s material culture—particularly personal effects—has remained fervent, in no small part because of the undeniable and lasting quality of fabrication. When Rodney Capstick-Dale began to collect such items in the late 1960s, his passion was shared by figures including Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, and Andy Warhol. From highly rare objects, including two Raymond Templier cigarette cases and a German Expressionist-influenced Cigarette case and lighter by Gerard Sandoz, to compacts, smoking accessories, and perfume packaging from unknown makers, each object in the Capstick-Dale Collection represents both an impassioned collector and an explosively exciting and generative moment in global history.
Jean Dunand 1877–1942
Jean Dunand was born in Lancy, Switzerland, in 1877. Beginning his formal training at the School of Industrial Arts in Geneva, Dunand excelled at creating decorative arts. Apprenticing at the workshop of noted sculptor Jean Damp in Paris, Dunand became accomplished in the arts of sculpture and carving. Inspired by Japanese art, Dunand developed his skills in repoussé metalworking, creating elegant bowls and vases of copper. To learn the Japanese art of lacquer, Dunand made a deal with Seizo Sugawara trading his skills in bronze for lessons in lacquer work skills. Following the First World War, Dunand created his own studio exclusively for making lacquered Art Deco furniture and interiors. Trying his hand at a new craft, Dunand extended his metalworking skills to jewelry, fashioning pieces deeply reminiscent of Cubist sculpture and African tribal art, and he exhibited his jewelry in a show alongside pieces by Elsa Schiaparelli and Jeanne Lanvin in 1924. Elected vice president of the metal display by his peers for the International Exhibit of Modern and Industrial and Decorative Art, Dunand was additionally asked to create a room representing the theme of “A French Embassy Abroad.” The elegant, black and red lacquered smoking room was a crowd favorite. An innovative craftsman in every sense of the word, Dunand combined the complex art of lacquer with the geometric and precise forms of Art Deco, creating an entirely new and groundbreaking style. Jean Dunand is recognized as one of the key figures in French design of the 20th century, the greatest lacquer artist of the Art Deco period and his work is held in the permanent collections of major museums around the world.
