Mushroom Lamp - Earthenware From Desvres - Gabriel Fourmaintraux - Period: Art Deco

Lovely and rare so-called "mushroom" lamp in Desvres earthenware designed and made by Gabriel Fourmaintraux.

Very pretty colorful floral motifs, bronze frame and twisted gold silk thread.
Its foot is enhanced with gold fillets and still has these serial labels, numbered 3737 of origin.
This rare piece is in perfect condition and has no cracks, and works perfectly.

Period: Art Nouveau - Art Deco
Circa: 1905 -1925
Dimensions: Height: 22cm x Width: 13cm
Diameter at the widest shade: 13cm
Signed and serial number inside the foot

At Desvres, earthenware is a family affair . We devote ourselves to it from father to son, whether we are a worker or an entrepreneur.
The history of the earthenware factories of Desvres could know up to five generations of leaders.
In addition to its know-how, each pottery had its own tools and artistic heritage (boards, models, moulds, clichés, vignettes, enamel recipes, etc.) which were transmitted over time and contributed to its particularity.

Gabriel FOURMAINTRAUX (1886-1984) is part of the fourth generation. Initiated at a very young age in the art of clay, he entered the National School of Ceramics in Sèvres at the age of 16.
Released valedictorian, he returned to Desvres with the project of making porcelain.

Working with his father from 1906, Gabriel created decorative porcelain items that met with great success and were exported to South America and Japan.

The cost of production and the economic context will force him, in the 1930s, to return to earthenware. The Fourmaintraux factory manufactured a wide range of ceramics including lamps, advertising items, trophies, vases, ashtrays and tiles.

He collaborated with Fernand Léger, painter and potter who worked in Biot in the south of France.
The association encouraged Gabriel Fourmaintraux to work in primary colors - red, white, yellow, blue on a black or white background.

It also encouraged him to produce objects of different original shapes. Most of the work of his work was done using molds.

The post-war period will see a return to rooms with traditional historical decorations.
Remained CEO of the factory until his death in 1984, Gabriel Fourmaintraux will be succeeded by his grandson Olivier.