Hervé Obligi

The magic of working with stone

• Hervé is known for his hard stone marquetry
• He restores stone objects and creates new pieces
• He was awarded the title of Master of Art in 2015

Hervé Obligi first trained as a wood sculptor, starting an apprenticeship at the age of 16, specialising in the restoration of 18th century furniture. However, after several years he realised that although he found the work very interesting, wood didn’t really suit him. He decided he wanted to learn stone marquetry, and found a master artisan in Florence willing to teach him. But in order to receive funding from the French ministry of culture, he had to return to Paris and state his case in an interview. During this interview a man entered the room and listened quietly. At the end, this man told Hervé that he did similar work and that Hervé should visit his workshop. So he did – and stayed for ten years.

Interview

©Jean-Luc Luyssen

©Hervé Obligi

Who was this man who taught you in Paris?

Claude Durant, who is a third generation glyptic master. His grandfather worked for Fabergé. I was about 25 when I arrived at his place. It was so interesting because we had so many conversations about the nature of stone and how to tackle it. It was a very rich experience which helped me a lot.

How do you use hard stone marquetry?

I have been working exclusively with stone for almost 15 years now. I restore some stone objects, but I'm increasingly moving towards creating objects – fine jewellery, watches, pens, for example. I like to create completely unique pieces most of the time.

Is there anything about your work that people don’t normally know?

When there is nobody in the workshop, usually in summer, I take my pebbles out into the yard and water them with a watering hose. It's a bit crazy as an idea but it refreshes my eye for all the colours of the materials that I have in my stock.

What do you like most about your work?

The moment I find and buy stones is very nice, and also when I try to marry the stone to an object. Will this stone work with the projects I'm working on? I find that very interesting. Also at the end, when you polish the stone and reveal all its colours and the quality of your work – that’s magical.

Hervé Obligi is a master artisan: he began his career in 1974 and he started teaching in 1998

Works

©Hervé Obligi

©Hervé Obligi

©Hervé Obligi

©Hervé Obligi

Where