Arge Art-deco Earthenware Platter by Paul Bonifas

Born in 1893, Bonifas entered the Geneva School of Fine Arts in 1910, where he remained until 1913. At the same time, he apprenticed as an engraver and jeweler with his father, then entered the Swiss School of Ceramics. He opened his first ceramics workshop in Versoix (Switzerland) in 1914. Bonifas collaborated with numerous artists, including L'Eplattenier, Jeanne Perrochet, and Robert Hainard. After his studio burned down in 1919, he went to Paris to work in a porcelain factory. From 1921 to 1922, he was secretary of the magazine "L'Esprit Nouveau," founded by Ozenfant and Le Corbusier. In 1922, he left Paris and took over a pottery workshop in Ferney-Voltaire (France). From 1925, he produced the black lusterware that made his reputation. In 1937 Bonifas exhibited several pieces at the International Exhibition of Arts and Technology.
The war in 1940 led him to close his workshop and take refuge in Geneva. He left for the United States in 1945 where he taught ceramics in Seattle WA. He died in 1967.