French artist Jean Dunand was certainly the most important lacquer artist of the Art Deco period. During his formative years, he was mostly interested in sculpture and copper work. After 1910, he began his lacquer experiments as the apprentice of Japanese artist Seizo Sugawara. As a fast learner, Dunand quickly mastered this difficult and time-consuming technique along with coquille d’oeuf technique which allowed him to create astonishing patterns by embedding egg shells in his lacquer layers. At first, his lacquer works were mostly inspired by Japanese cultural heritage and naturalistic motifs typical for Art Nouveau designs, but he afterwards abandoned these motifs for more abstract and purer forms influenced by Cubism and African art. Dunand applied lacquer on a variety of objects and surfaces from vases and jewelry to panels, furniture, and even portraits. On many occasions, he worked with other prominent furniture designers of the Art Deco period and after a whole century, his furniture and decorative works are still highly valued by art collectors.