CHANDELIER RESTORER FOR THE LOUVRE AND THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES, RÉGIS MATHIEU OF MATHIEU LUSTRERIE TALKS ABOUT HIS CRAFT.

For Régis Mathieu, the second-generation owner at the helm of the French chandelier maker Mathieu Lustrerie, restoration is not just a dialogue with the past, but also a dialogue with future conservators and designers.

- TEXT: KHUSHI SHETH PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MATHIEU LUSTRERIE

He wants to preserve the joy of disassembling a piece to understand its inner workings and the moment in history it occupies only to put it all back together for people in the present to appreciate. Mathieu Lustrerie's passion for restoration is well known in France, where it has been tasked with restoring the chandeliers of historic monuments such as The Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre and the Notre-Dame. Closer to home, it has restored chandeliers of the Lukshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara.

Mathieu Lustrerie was started by Régis's father, Henri Mathieu, in 1948. After his passing in 1982, his wife, Yvette, took over. Régis took charge in 1992, and has been joined by his daughter, Inès Mathieu. He moved the factory and workshop, employing 35 craftsmen for restoration and creation, from Marseilles to a village called Gargas in south of France. The company has a strong presence in Paris, with a fine art gallery near the Elysée Palace and a workshop in Hôtel de la Marine.