The Art Nouveau collection at the Maison Belle Epoque
The Art Nouveau Collection at the Maison Belle Epoque
Building the remarkable collection of French art nouveau design at Perrier-Jouët’s Maison Belle Epoque was ‘about rediscovering our own roots’ according to Axelle de Buffévent, Style Director of Maison Perrier-Jouët. “I think it’s beautiful. It’s what we try to do today, keep our roots and keep our heritage alive.”
The Maison Belle Epoque, family house of Perrier-Jouët, is a glamourous 19th century mansion situated in the heart of Épernay, famous as the home of Champagne. In the 1960s, inspired by the rediscovery in the cellar of four handcrafted magnums exquisitely enamelled with Japanese anemones by the art nouveau glassmaker Émile Gallé, Perrier-Jouët began to acquire pieces of art nouveau furniture for the Maison. The rooms are now sumptuously furnished with works by Gallé and other masters of the art nouveau, such as Louis Majorelle and Hector Guimard. As a testament to the importance of Gallé’s magnums, their elegant anemones now decorate the bottles of Perrier-Jouët’s Belle Epoque collection.
Christie’s Education, part of the renowned international auction house, filmed Axelle in the Maison Belle Epoque to introduce students of their online Design course to this pinnacle of French art nouveau, the largest collection in private hands. The resulting documentary is available alongside films on contemporary design; modernist designers; and six substantial lectures that trace the history of design from the art nouveau to today.
Gallé’s bottles are the pillar of the relationship between the art nouveau and Perrier-Jouët, Axelle says in the documentary. It is a relationship that starts with the grape, ‘it’s about adding beauty to everyday life, it’s about being inspired by nature. We come from nature.’
20th Century and Contemporary Design
A six-week online course