Emile Reiber (1826–1893), head of the drawing and design workshop at the Christofle company from 1865 to 1878, is the likely designer for the offered pair of oil lamps. The high priest of Japonisme, Emile Reiber was one of the most prominent followers of this movement, which had a major impact on the field of decorative arts during the second half of the 19th century. He was one of the few artists of his time to
closely link his career with the rise of industrialization in order to put his knowledge and ideas into practice.
Reiber was hired in 1865 by the Christofle company and remained there for thirteen years. Of the roughly fifteen hundred drawings he is said to have produced for the firm, several hundred are still carefully preserved today in the company’s archives. Through his drawings, Reiber was the source of some of the most remarkable masterpieces created in the Christofle workshops and displayed at various World’s
Fairs.
