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 life-like 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.
