Paul Kiss Paperweights

Art Deco paperweight circa 1925. Wrought iron squirrel stamped P. Kiss. In perfect condition. Height: 16.5 cm Width: 8 cm Length: 12.5 cm Weight: 1.8 kg Paul Kiss, born on March 5, 1886 in Kézdiszentkereszt (hu) (then in Hungary, now Poian in Romania) in the Carpathian Mountains and died in 1962 in Linières-Bouton, France, was an artistic ironworker. He exhibited at major French art events of the 1920s. Paul Kiss helped elevate metalworking to an art form in the 1920s and 1930s, creating magnificent furniture, table lamps, and wall mirrors with exquisite ornamental details, inspired by Art Deco. The pieces often featured geometric patterns, plant motifs, and human and animal figures. Kiss was born in Hungary in 1885 but moved to Paris in 1907. There, he worked under Raymond Subes and Edgar Brandt, two of the most famous metalworkers of the time. After the First World War, Kiss opened his own studio and showroom on Rue Léon-Delhomme. Kiss designed and produced numerous pieces of iron furniture throughout the 1920s and 1930s. He was commissioned to restore historic monuments and create new public monuments. His clients included the kings of Siam and Egypt. Kiss created the metalwork for the war memorial in Levallois-Perret, France, for which he received the silver medal at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1924. In 1925, he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs and the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. In the 1920s, Kiss mentored the young designer Paul Fehér...