Dasson, Henri

“Monsieur Dasson, who owes his success and fortune to the famous carvers of the 18th century,” wrote the furniture scholar Edmond Bonnaffé in 1885, “writes history, not with a pen, but with the bronzes, marbles, tables… in his collections.”   

Henri Dasson, the son of a shoemaker, was famous in the second half of the 19th century for his copies of 18th-century French furniture and household goods.  He created desks, tables, and chests decorated in gilt bronze inspired by the style of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI.  He was a member of the Legion of Honor in 1883. Dasson exhibited his works in the Universal Expositions of 1878 and 1889 in Paris as well as in other European expositions.