(1882-1938)
After training in drawing and wood carving at the Ecole Boulle in Paris, Armand-Albert Rateau worked for several interior designers, most notably Georges Hoentschel, and ran the interior design studios at Maison Alavoine from 1905 to 1914 before setting up his own business.
Rateau was one of the most important representatives of the individualistic Art Deco style. He produced his furniture and lamps in limited editions of just a few pieces. There are no more than three casts of some models here, which were made for the most distinguished clientele. The Baroness Eugène de Rothschild, the Duchess of Alba and Jeanne Lanvin’s apartment also included the two bronze floor lamps with the characteristic bird and pheasant motifs from 1920 to 1922. They are made of cast bronze and have a greenish patina, a technique that goes back to metalworking in antiquity. The overall effect of this pair of floor lamps is also antique, looking more old-oriental than Art Deco.
In addition to these few floor lamps, of which there are several variations, Rateau designed wall lamps that were also made of patinated bronze and decorated with daisies, butterflies and acanthus leaf motifs. These individual pieces by Rateau, like his few bronze pieces of furniture, were already considered individualistic works of art back then.
Source: Alastair Duncan, Lampen Lüster Leuchter, Jugendstil Art Déco, Prestel-Verlag, München 1979, p.182
Picture: Alastair Duncan, Lampen Lüster Leuchter, Jugendstil Art Déco, Prestel-Verlag, München 1979, Picture 122
