Falize.

The firm of Parisian jewellers and goldsmiths Falize was established in 1838 by Alexis Falize (1811-1898), who as an anonymous designer supplied famous retailers including Mellerio, Boucheron and Tiffany. The first pieces exhibited under his own name consisted of cloisonné enamelled jewellery in the Japanese taste. Examples of such works were immediately acquired by the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in 1867. By 1876 his son Lucien (1839-1897) opened premises on the Avenue de l'Opéra and achieved an international reputation with his displays at the 1878 and 1889 Expositions Universelles.

When Lucien died in 1897, his three sons continued as 'Falize Frères'. Important commissions were awarded to the firm, from the coronation regalia of King Peter I of Serbia to the crown made for Queen Marie of Romania in 1922.

The work of the firm reflects all those sources of inspiration prevelant during the nineteenth century; the predilection for Oriental art in the 1860s played a large part in the firm's early creations. The Falizes also drew extensively from Medieval, Renaissance and Persian art, creating lavishly enamelled jewels and goldsmith's work which won them great critical acclaim. Lucien Falize was amongst the first to advocate a return to nature; in urging artists to apply elements drawn from the plant world to jewellery and goldsmith's work, he became one of the acknowledged precursors of Art Nouveau.

Examples of Falize's work can be seen in many public collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum, London, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim and the Ajuda Palace, Lisbon.

Katherine Purcell has written a detailed account of the art of the Falizes:  Falize - A Dynasty of Jewellers.

Lucien Falize (1811-1898)

Pieces by Falize at Wartski can be viewed on the Fine Jewellery page.