Faux bois ("fake wood") is a venerable French tradition, an offshoot of trompe-l'œil ("deceive the eye"), in which artisans attempt to create a lifelike representation of wood's grain in materials that are not wood. Crispin casts a texturally rich faux bois pattern into metal, shining its light through Spanish alabaster for a beautiful diffusion effect. This combination of materials and textures adds a prestige of luxury while alluding to a wealth of rich European history.
