Alfred Foretay and Henri Huppe

ALFRED FORETAY (Switzerland, 1861-1944) & HENRI HUPPE (1855-1904).
Centerpiece-pot "Pierrot and Colombina", ca. 1900.
Silver-plated pewter.
Signed on a side leaf.
Ettlinger Frères marks on the reverse.
Weight: 3.450 g.
Bibliography: Philippe DAHHAN, Étains 1900, 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Époque, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, reproduced p. 149, fig. 404.
Measurements: 27 x 30 x 22 cm.

Silver-plated pewter flowerpot in the form of an open corolla with the rim formed by leaves to which the figures of Pierrot and Colombine cling on both sides.

Alfred Jean Foretay (1861-c. 1940) was a Swiss sculptor and painter who, after working briefly in his architect father's office, moved to Paris at the age of 16. There he trained at the École des Beaux-Arts under Alexandre Falguière, and established himself by exhibiting at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français, where he won a gold medal in 1904. Foretay is known mainly for his remarkable sculptural work, which includes architectural decoration, fountains, and numerous statuettes, busts and decorative bronze and pewter vessels in Art Nouveau style. After a period in Switzerland (1911) where he devoted himself to architectural decoration and began painting landscapes in the Impressionist style, he returned to France between 1918 and 1935 before returning permanently to Switzerland, leaving an artistic legacy that includes monumental sculpture, small Art Nouveau bronzes and landscape painting.

Ettlinger Frères was a renowned foundry and publishing house active in the early 20th century, specializing in the production of pewter objects, particularly in the Art Nouveau style. This prominent foundry worked with numerous artists, and is associated with the works of such figures as François Madurell and Joseph Berthier, among many others.