Frédéric DANTON (1874-1929) Exceptional and rare naturalist vase, truncated cone shape with four detached protuberances, reminiscent of a tree trunk, decorated with iris and foliage motifs. Proof in iridescent ceramic with metallic highlights. Recessed stamp and painted signature F. Danton Creuse Aubusson Art Nouveau period Height: 43.5 cm At the beginning of the 20th century, the Danton factory replaced the former Croc-Richen spinning mill on the banks of the Creuse, at the entrance to the rue des Tanneurs in Aubusson. The factory was very active before the 1914-1918 war, employing around a hundred low-warp workers who made tapestries and furniture. The factory had its own dye house on the banks of the river, warehouses for storing wool and workshops on the upper floors. At the time, it was run by Frédéric Danton, who was related to the Jorrand family. An atypical character, he was a manufacturer, politician, farmer and patron of the arts. As well as managing the Aubusson tapestry factory and workshops in Bellegarde, he also ran a ceramics factory for some time in the Got Barbat district, which produced some remarkable pieces. He became a member of the Aubusson County Council in 1910 and vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but was never able to pursue a career in national politics, failing three times between 1912 and 1919 in legislative elections. He therefore remained very involved in local life, as a member of the Prud'hommes (industrial tribunal) or the agricultural show of the canton of Aubusson, owning a large farm in the commune of Saint-Alpinien where his family was originally from, and as founder of the Arrondissement horticultural society. A jack-of-all-trades, he was also the patron of Champagnat aviator François Denhaut, for whom he financed the testing of the 3rd prototype, an aircraft known as "le Danton". Unfortunately, the difficulties of the 1920s forced him to merge with the Croc-Jorrand establishments to form a single entity called "Aux Fabriques d'Aubusson". This company, which had its head office at 13 rue Lafayette in Paris, had capital of between 4 and 5 million francs and still employed some 235 workers. But the economic crisis took its toll and the company went bankrupt in 1932. Frédéric Danton never lived to see it, dying on 03 June 1929 at his home in Paris, 23 Rue Richelieu. The factory was then demolished to make way for the current Post Office, which opened in 1956. Source: https://www.cite-tapisserie.fr/fr/ressources-th%C3%A9matiques/histoire-des-ateliers/la-manufacture-danton . Based on a text by Romain Bonnot, history and geography teacher at Aubusson.