Jean Despres (1889-1980) - Ashtray In Round Shape - Silver Metal - Signed - Circa 1950

Jean DESPRES (1889-1980) Round-shaped ashtray in plain silver metal. Slightly rounded hammered pelvis The slightly flared neck is lined with a row of marbles - signed Circa 1950 Height: 3.8 cm Width: 10.5 cm (Missing the thumb piece), born June 15, 1889 in Souvigny (Allier) , who died in 1980 in Avallon (Yonne), was a French goldsmith and jewelry designer, one of the most innovative of the interwar years. Jean Després Jean Després was born into a family of glass artisans. His grandfather Jean-Baptiste Desprès was a glassmaker in Bligny in Aube, and his father Octave Desprès was employed as a traveling salesman at the Verrerie de Souvigny at the time of his birth in 18891. The family moved to Avallon in 1890. to open a trinkets and hardware store at no. 27 rue de Paris, then at no. 20 place Vauban. Schooled in Avallon, he is not a very bright student. His passion is cycling and competitions. He obtained his elementary certificate in 1905. Then his father placed him as an apprentice with a goldsmith friend in Paris in the Marais district. He completed his training by taking drawing lessons in the schools of the city of Paris and also frequented Montmartre and the circle of young cubists, surrealists, futurists: Giorgio De Chirico, Marie Laurencin, Chaïm Soutine, Maurice Utrillo. At the Bateau-Lavoir he met Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, who became his best friend. During the First World War, he was classified as auxiliary service in December 1914 for a deformation of the left forearm, then he was recalled to activity in January 1916 and experienced various assignments (Fifth section of nurses, 113th infantry regiment , Fifth Section of Secretaries in 1916; Automobile Services Depot, Fifth Train Squadron in 1917), which eventually led him to join military aviation formations at the end of the war. He moved to the Second Aviation Group in December 1917, then to the First Aviation Group in June 1918, as a meccano glider in the 4912 squadron. mark him permanently and will nourish all his work. In the 1920s and 1930s, he took over his parents' store in Avallon and set up his workshop where he created engine jewellery, whose pure forms inspired by aeronautical mechanical parts are part of the avant-garde movement. . Artisan of metal, gold, silver, pewter, Després shapes the material, invents new forms. Like his contemporaries Marcel Sandoz or Raymond Templier, he is one of those pioneers who renounce the codes of fine jewelry and the use of precious stones. He took part, with the help of Paul Signac, in his first Salon des Indépendants in 1926. In 1929, he presented silver and pewter jewelry there. A goldsmith by training, he also participates in the revival of the forms of goldsmithery by ridding it of its classic ornaments, to create pieces with massive shapes, in silver, pewter, most often in silver metal, recognizable among all by their hammered appearance. He has many friendships in the avant-gardes of the time, such as Paul Jouve or Maurice de Vlaminck4. In 1935, he was in charge of the Art and Fashion gallery, at no. 39 rue du Colisée in Paris. In 1936, he married Simone Delattre, painter and decorator on embroidered fabrics. He was rewarded by the Aeroclub, which awarded him a gold medal in 1937. These works began to be known abroad. The following year, he was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He runs his gallery and keeps his studio in Avallon. In 1940, he was president of the Syndicat des orfèvres, professional delegate for artistic protection at the international office of jewellery-goldsmiths. He was rapporteur for goldsmithery on the awards commission of the Society for the Encouragement of Art and Industry5. In 1943, he moved to rue de La Trémoille in Paris, where he had a store at the same address. Among his friends, he counted Pierre Vigoureux and frequented Cavaillès, Worms, Peltier, Lalique, the Delaunays, Fernand Léger and many others. He counts Josephine Baker among his famous clients. After the war, Jean Després will exhibit several times, with the support of the State, in different foreign countries. In 1972, he donated sixty-eight of his works to the city of Avallon. He was a member of the Académie du Morvan in 1968.