Eugene Fontenay
(1824 - 1887)
In 1848, Fontenay opened his own shop at 2 Rue Favart. His firm produced much work in the antique style based on Greek, Roman and Etruscan originals. Little is known of his first ten years in business. In Henri Vever’s work on French 19th century jewelry he mentions only two reputed pieces: a fan commissioned in 1852 for the Queen of Portugal in which Fontenay worked together with enameller Lefournier, and the masterpiece of stone-setting made for the 1855 Exposition Universelle; a diadem formed of two branches of bramble. Also in 1855, Fontenay made a diadem for the Empress Eugénie, in which he offered two different ways of wearing it: with nine fleurons enhanced with emeralds or sapphires that could be replaced with seventeen large pendant pearls pointing downwards, or seventeen large pendant diamonds which formed part of the imperial necklace and could be detached for that purpose.
Fontenay’s work was influenced by the Campana Collection of classical jewels, purchased for France by Napoleon II in 1861. In 1867, Fontenay participated in the Exposition Universelle which gave him great success. He worked together with Joseph Halphen a major dealer in precious stones, and secured many commissions from wealthy Eastern clients. He was asked to create betel-nut boxes, pipes, sword-belts, mirrors, parasols, fly-whisks, parade weapons, even a complete harness with bit, saddle, bridle, stirrups, riding-whip, etc., for the King of Siam and the Shah of Persia which he designed mainly to exhibit an extravagance of beautiful precious stones. He also created a dinner service for the Viceroy of Egypt which was a lavish masterpiece done in gold, diamonds and precious stones.
In 1863, Fontenay began to stamp his own work, but it was not until 1865 that he first exhibited his designs with his stamp, in Porto, Portugal. In 1867, Fontenay presented a collection that was entirely made of gold pieces. Not only did Fontenay copy period originals, he also took motifs from these styles and, with them, created original designs. There are very few pieces of his jewelry that have been rediscovered today which allow us to appreciate the extraordinary perfection that was the hallmark of his work. When it became impossible to use 22-carat gold as freely as before, Fontenay proposed plating it with 18 carat gold, therefore, combining -“the charm of the one, with the solidity of the other.” Fontenay was also an expert at producing the most varied effects from the tone of gold. He chose to retain the rich yellow tonality of native gold, “which improves with use.” He also knew how to give worked gold a matt finish, instead of the bright and superficial luster produced by polishing.
Fontenay remained one of the rare creators to return to a unity of material and style in the most beautiful pieces he created, avoiding excess of decoration, therefore, achieving the elegance he much admired in antique jewelry, drawing inspiration from the life and nature around him. He was also one of the first jewelers of his time to return to nature, anticipating the great flowering of Art Nouveau. Fontenay was the first European jewelry designer to use jadeite in his designs such as scarabs, grasshoppers or dragonflies.
For the 1978 Exposition Universelle, Fontenay was appointed a member of the jury awarding the prizes. He participated with a br?le-parfum formed of an egg covered in filigree and enamel, supported by dolphins and sirens, resting on a lapis-lazuli stand; foretelling the famous Fabergé eggs to come in the near future.
At age 59, in 1882, Fontenay handed over his business to Henri Smets, to work as a historian of jewelry, and a lecturer and writer. The last five years of his life, Fontenay travelled throughout Europe to study, compare and draw all the known specimens of the art of jewelry. His articles were published in the Revue des Arts Décoratifs (from 1881), his books Diamants et Pierres Précieuses: Bijoux, Joyaux, Orfèvreries (1881) and Les Bijoux Anciens et Modernes, which appeared after his death in 1887. Fontenay is considered the first to attempt to retrace the history of jewelry since antiquity.
