Originally Swiss, Jean Dunand began his fine art education in Geneva but moved to Paris after receiving a scholarship. It was in Paris that he became particularly interested in the use of metal in the decorative arts, and in 1906 gave up fine art entirely to devote himself to working in this medium. Dunand’s friendship with the Japanese artist, Seizo Sugawara, led to his investigation of the lacquerwork technique which became his preferred medium in his later collaborations with Art Deco designers like Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann.