Jean Puiforcat

Jean Elysée Puiforcat (pronounced pwee-for-KAH) (5 August 1897 – 20 October 1945) was a French silversmith, sculptor and designer. Miller's Antiques Encyclopedia calls Puiforcat the "most important French Art Deco silversmith."

Descartes (Amsterdam)

Puiforcat served in World War I. After the war, he apprenticed as a silversmith and a designer. He lived in Paris. He designed in the art deco style. His silver work had smooth surfaces and was based on the geometric series. Ivory, onyx, lapis lazuli, and rosewood were used to decorate pieces. He also used gilding. Puiforcat left Paris and moved to Saint-Jean-de-Luz, around 1927. In 1928, he co-founded the Union des Artistes Modernes. He started designing tableware and by 1934 he also had designed liturgical silver. In 1941, he moved to Mexico. After his move, he started exhibiting in the United States.

Andy Warhol collected Puiforcat silverware, which he acquired while visiting Paris in the 1970s. In 1988, Warhol memorabilia was sold at Sotheby's. The collection sold for $451,000 and a tureen with an aventurine decoration sold for $55,000. Work by Puiforcat is held in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum. A chain of boutiques is named after him, which sell his designs and sculptures.