Rating and value of Jean Després' artworks, jewels, vases and services

If you own a work by or after artist Jean Després, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with a precise estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, if you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.  

Rating and value of artist Jean Després         

A celebrated silversmith and jewelry designer of his time, Després leaves behind a unique artistic identity. This legacy consists mainly of Art Deco jewelry.

At present, the prices of his works are rising at auctioneers' gavels, his quotation is stable. His creations are particularly prized, especially by French buyers, and the price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €30 to €250,000, a considerable delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Després' works.

In 2015, a silver and black lacquer cuff bracelet, model n°7, dating from 1931 sold for €250,000 while it was estimated at €5,000.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious 

The artist's style and technique       

Jean Despès produces Art Deco jewelry, mostly in silver. He is famous for his goldsmithing skills, which have also enabled him to create table services, ashtrays, vases and other objects relating to the art of the table.

He makes preferential use of solid silver, which becomes his signature, with occasional incorporations of semi-precious stones (onyx, rock crystal, quartz, carnelian, lapis lazuli).

He experiments with cloisonné enamel to introduce colors into his jewelry, and refuses ostentatious preciousness, with simple materials but sublimated by the craftsmanship. His workmanship is artisanal, inherited from his training in industrial design and his aviation experience (metal, riveting, structures).

His frames are robust and made according to principles of mechanical rigor and functionality. His aesthetic is geometric and cubist, with spheres, cones, circles and orthogonal volumes. Jewelry and objects are thought of as modular assemblages, close to industrial language. He repeats simple motifs to create rhythmic effects.

His style is described as mechanistic, with direct borrowing from the vocabulary of machinismo and mechanics. He is strongly influenced by cubism, constructivism and Bahaus. Jean Desprès sees jewelry as a utilitarian art object, the opposite of ostentatious jewelry.

The artist uses silver hammering for textured surfaces, and cloisonné enamel to accentuate the contrast between metal and color. He works in limited series, but always by hand, each piece being unique in its rendering.

In addition to jewelry, he makes goldsmith's objects (boxes, vases, trays, cutlery, candlesticks) that are decorated by hammering or repetitive geometries, tea sets, cutlery, dishes, silverware and utility pieces, as well as decorative objects.

He is nicknamed " le bijoutier des cubistes " for his transposition of the pictorial avant-gardes to goldsmithing. His work embodies the spirit of modern French craftsmanship of the 1920s-1930s. He occupies a singular place between jewelry, design and the decorative arts, at the crossroads of art and industry.

The life of Jean Després     

Born in Allier in 1889, Jen Després is a French silversmith. He came from a family of artisan glassmakers. Not a very bright student, his father placed him in an apprenticeship with a friend in the Marais district of Paris.

He attended drawing classes and frequented the Futurist and Cubist circles of the time : there he rubbed shoulders with Chaïm Soutine, Modigliani, Picasso and Georges Braque, his best friend. In 1914, he was classified in the auxiliary service due to a health problem, but was eventually mobilized in the air force.

This period would have a lasting influence on his work, drawing inspiration from the various drawings he made for aviation. He took over his parents' workshop, where he created " bijoux-moteurs " inspired by the aesthetics of aeronautical parts. He rejected haute joaillerie and the use of precious materials, preferring to use copper, silver or pewter.

He first participated in the Salon des Indépendants in 1926.

In 1940, Després became president of the goldsmiths' union. Josephine Baker became one of his most loyal customers, and he exhibited in various countries. Beyond being a talented artist, he was an important figure in the art world, forming friendships with Fernand Léger, René Lalique and many others.

He died in 1980 aged 91.

Focus on Cigarette box, Jean Desprès, circa 1930

Cigarette box is a hammer-worked work in solid silver, rectangular and with sober, functional proportions. The surface is textured by regular hammering, giving a vibrant, luminous appearance.

The clasp is simple, integrated into the continuity of the lines and sometimes enhanced by a stone cabochon (onyx, carnelian). Hammering gives a visual effect close to pictorial vibration, transforming silver into a dynamic surface.

The geometric structure is pure in form and reduced to the essential. The decorative value lies solely in the material and the handwork. This piece is representative of the Art Deco spirit, in its most stripped-down, modernist vein. Desprès thus dialogues with the research of the Bahaus, with the primacy of function and the sincerity of materials.

He seeks an aspect of mechanical modernity, insofar as the appearance is industrial but the rendering is artisanal. Silver becomes an expressive material, where texture replaces ornament.

Through this work and Jean Desprès's body of work, the object of everyday use is elevated to the rank of art object. it testifies to Desprès's refusal to dissociate art and everyday life, since his boxes, vases or cutlery embody a global aesthetic.

Jean Després' imprint on his time

Jean Després left an important artistic legacy, bearing witness to the ongoing artistic renewal of the 20th century. His works are exhibited in many prestigious art collections around the world and in churches, even though he is little known to the general public.

Today, his works are still successful at auction. Although some of his works are kept in museums in Europe, private collectors play a big role in preserving his work, his works are very rarely presented at auction. 

Recognizing the artist's signature

Jean Després sometimes signs his works, or puts a hallmark on them. However, there are a few copies, which is why expertise is paramount.

Knowing the value of a work 

If you happen to own a work by or after Jean Després, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, not forgetting to send you ad hoc information about it.

If you are considering selling your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market inclinations.