Alfred Daguet

Alfred-Louis-Achille Daguet was a metalsmith who specialized in repoussé copper panels applied to hinged boxes, mantel clocks, and other exquisite objects. His delicately rendered images of flowers, birds, and sea are enriched with colorful cabochons.

Daguet’s life is relatively unknown. He was a pupil of Jean Leon Gerome, and lived in Paris until 1910. His work was exhibited at the Société des Artistes Français in 1903 and 1904, and he participated in the 1926 exhibition “Le Cuivre et le Bronze moderne” at the Galliera Museum. There Daguet presented works bearing new forms – namely, circular disks of steel and bronze. Apart from this late exhibition, his best-known work is from before 1910.

Daguet’s name remains associated with Samuel Bing, the penultimate purveyor of Art Nouveau objects. Daguet’s workshop was located above Bing’s boutique. Famed actress and Art Nouveau collector Sarah Bernhardt owned pieces designed by Daguet.