Inkwell “Pavot” (Poppy) by Eugène Feuillâtre

Silver, with an enameled decor of peacock feathers highlighted with gold; the lid in silver stylized as a poppy seed.

Eugène Feuillâtre started his career in 1890 as head of René Lalique’s enameling workshop which he led for seven years. Considered as one of the best enamelers of his time, he was also a talented sculptor and goldsmith. His creations were displayed for the first time in 1898 at the Salon of the Société des Artistes Français. This exhibition brought him great success. During that year, he also acted as a member of the jury alongside Lalique and Fouquet for an exhibition at the New Gallery in London.

By 1899, he began working on his own. He also joined the Belgian association “Libre Esthétique” and the Société des Artistes Français with whom he exhibited until 1910.
The year 1900 brought him a gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition. This inkwell is one of his earliest and most accomplished works. Other examples of this inkwell can be found in European museums such as the Musée de l’horlogerie et de l’émaillerie, Musées d’Art et d’Histoire de la Ville in Geneva, Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris, Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, and the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Budapest.