Glass jardinière by Émile Gallé, early 20th century
Glass jardinière by Émile Gallé, early 20th century. Acid-etched and cut glass ("cameo" glass); decorated with dragonfly and water lilies in bloom. Acid-etched "Gallé" signature on one of the two short sides. Pioneer of Art Nouveau and founder of the École de Nancy, Émile Gallé (1846-1904) was a master glassmaker and brilliant designer. In the 1890s he began the production of "cameo" glass vases, obtained by acid etching, a category into which our specimen also falls. These can be traced, based on the signature, to the period between 1906 and 1914, the years immediately following the master's death. As for the decorations, depicting a dragonfly in flight above a body of water with water lilies and lake reeds, they can be identified as one of the characteristic ornamental themes of Gallé's production, part of that oriental taste so beloved by the artist. Bibliography: Duncan A., de Bartha G., Gallé. Le Verre, Fribourg (Switzerland), Office du Livre S.A., 1985, pp. 178 and 182, figs. 264 and 272.
ID: 2096-1722541295-98752