Sugar bowl

This service is a faithful copy of a Puiforcat design that was first produced in 1936. The copy was made by the Birmingham manufacturer, Elkington. The design appears in the firm's pattern books, although no acknowledgement is made to the source. We do not know whether this is an unofficial copy or whether it was made under licence to Puiforcat. Jean Puiforcat (1897-1945) was born in Paris, the son of a goldsmith. He was self-taught as a designer, although he studied sculpture under Louis Lejeune. From 1922 he worked as an independent goldsmith. He designed his own works, mainly in a geometric Art Deco style. Puiforcat was addicted to geometry and the golden section (a ratio in which the sma

Sugar bowl · Birmingham · 1936-1937. Silver, parcel-gilt. By Jean Puiforcat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.