CAFFIERI, JACQUES (1678-1755), French worker in metal, the most famous member of a family several of whom distinguished themselves in plastic art, was the fifth son of Philippe Caffieri (1634-1716), a decorative sculptor, who, after serving Pope Alexander VII., entered the service of Louis XIV. in 166o. An elder son of Philippe, Francois Charles (1667-1721), was associated with him. As a fondeur ciseleur, however, the re nown of the house centred in Jacques, though it is not always easy to distinguish between his own work and that of his son Philippe (1714-1777). A large proportion of his brilliant achieve ment as a designer and chaser in bronze and other metals was executed for the crown at Versailles, Fontainebleau, Compiegne, and La Muette. Jacques and his son Philippe undoubtedly worked together in the "Appartement du Dauphin" at Ver sailles, where the decorations of the marble chimney-piece in the best type of the Louis XV. style still remain. They also worked together upon the gorgeous bronze case of the famous astronom ical clock made by Passement and Danthiau for Louis XV. be tween 1749 and 1753. The elder Caffieri was a consummate prac titioner of the style rocaille, which he redeemed from its mannered conventionalism by the ease and mastery of his treatment. From their studio came an amazing amount of work, chiefly in the shape of those gilded bronze mounts which in the end be came more insistent than the pieces of furniture which they adorned. Little of the elder's achievement was ordinary; a large proportion of it is famous. In the Wallace collection (Hertford house, London) is a commode constructed by Gaudreau with mounts from the hand of Jacques Caffieri, in which are seen the brilliance and spontaneity, the sweeping boldness and elegance of line that mark his style at its best. Also at Hertford house is the exceptionally fine lustre which was a wedding present from Louis XV. to Louise Elizabeth of France. After Jacques' death his son Philippe's style was gradually modified into that which pre vailed in the third quarter of the 18th century, since by 1777, when he died, the taste for the magnificent mounts of his early days had passed away. Philippe's younger brother, Jean Jacques Caffieri (1725-1792), was a sculptor, but was sufficiently adept in the treatment of metals to design the fine rampe d'escalier which still adorns the Palais Royal.
See A. Michel, A propos de quelques oeuvres de Jean Jacques Caffieri recemment entrees an Musee du Louvre, in archives of Societe de l'Histoire de l'Art francais, 4 S. VIII. 251 (1o16) ; F. de Salverte, Les ebenistes du XVIII. siecle, leurs oeuvres et leurs marques (1927).