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ÉMILE GALLÉ 'Iris' Vase, circa 1900 overlaid cameo and fire polished glass

Name: ÉMILE GALLÉ 'Iris' Vase, circa 1900 overlaid cameo and fire polished glass
Brand: Émile Gallé

$15,000List Price

About the Item

ÉMILE GALLÉ (1846-1904) Rare and important 'Iris' Vase, circa 1900 Overlaid cameo and fire polished glass, well documented in books and exhibitions Signed in cameo Gallé. Measurements : Height : 9 in. (22.9 cm) Diameter : 5 in. (12.7 cm) Condition Perfect condition for its age, no brakes, no restorations. Émile Gallé (8 May 1846 in Nancy – 23 September 1904 in Nancy) was a French artist and Designer who worked in glass, and is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted for his designs of Art Nouveau glass art And Art Nouveau furniture, and was a founder of the École de Nancy or Nancy School, a Movement of design in the city of Nancy, France. This vase in the literature: G. de Bartha and A. Duncan, Glass by Gallé, London, 1984, p. 93 (for a related example). Émile Gallé et le verre la collection du Musée de l’École de Nancy, exh. cat., 2004, Paris, p. 136, no. 217 (for a related example). B. Hakenjos, Émile Gallé: Keramik, Glas und Möbel des Art Nouveau, Volume 1, Munich, 2012, p. 139 (for a related example). B. Hakenjos, Émile Gallé: Keramik, Glas und Möbel des Art Nouveau, Volume 2, Munich, 2012, p. 141 (for a related example). Two major glass style made by Galle: Cased glass, cameo glass and enamel glass: Cased glass and cameo glass were two techniques often used by Gallé. Cased glass was Made of two different layers of glass of different colors, fused together by heat. The first Case of layer is made in a cold. When it is finished and cooled, a second layer is blown Inside the first Then the piece is placed into the furnace, so the two layers fuse together. This could be repeated for multiple layers of glass. Cameo glass was a means of Decorating cased glass. The cased glass of two or more colors was carved with a Diamond saw or etched with acid, so that the colors of the layer underneath were visible And created a design. Enamel glass was decorated on the outside by a brush of enamels Colored by metallic oxides. Glass marquetry and patinated glass: Gallé continually experimented with new techniques of glass art. One of his major Innovations was glass marquetry, or applying layers of glass on an object. He attached Then sheets of colored glass onto a hot glass object He could join the laminations or Overlay them, adding an infinite number of layers and colors. This technique had been Practiced by the Venetians during the Renaissance, but Gallé pushed it much further. While it allowed him almost limitless variations, it also presented great difficulties, since The glass had to be reheated for each new layer, and could easily crack. Another difficulty was the appearance of defects and imperfections caused by Contamination of the glass paste by dust or ashes or other materials, which caused what Glassmakers called "bubbles", "grease" or stitches" inside the glass. Galleé decided to Take advantage of the defects. He wrote in his patent application, "Concerned about Such defects, I had the idea of using them as a decorative means, which permitted me, By inducing the effect in various ways, to obtain an entirely new type of decoration, called Patina." Gallé proposed dusting the surface of the hot glass, which would give the Appearance of fabric, or thick cobweb, or other textures. He proposed to make further Decoration the surface with engraving, sand blasting, and wheel carving, and to embed Fragments of hot glass into this patina or outer layer. The final result would then be Covered with a thin layer of clear crystal, which could be left plain or also patinated.[10]

Creator:
Émile Gallé (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 9 in (22.86 cm)Diameter: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Style:
Art Nouveau (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Art Glass,Blown Glass,Cut Glass,Appliqué,Polished
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
Early 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1900
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Perfect condition for its age, no brakes, no restorations.
Seller Location:
Tel Aviv - Jaffa, IL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU8130235520322

Shop All Émile Gallé

Émile Gallé

“Art for art’s sake” was a belief strongly espoused by the celebrated French designer and glassworker Émile Gallé. Through his ethereal glass vases, other vessels and lamps, which he adorned with botanical and religious motifs, Gallé advanced the Art Nouveau ideology and led the modern renaissance of French glass.

Gallé was the son of successful faience and furniture maker Charles Gallé but studied philosophy and botany before coming to glassmaking later in life. The young Gallé’s expertise in botany, however, would inform his design style and become his signature for generations to come.

After learning the art of glassmaking, Gallé went to work at his father’s factory in Nancy. He initially created clear glass objects but later began to experiment with layering deeply colored glass.

While glassmakers on Murano had applied layers of glass and color on decorative objects before Gallé had, he was ever-venturesome in his northeastern France, taking advantage of defects that materialized during his processes and etching in natural forms like insects such as dragonflies, marine life, the sun, vines, fruits and flowers modeled from local specimens.

Gallé is also credited with reviving cameo glass, a glassware style that originated in Rome. He used cabochons, which were applied raised-glass decorations colored with metallic oxides and made to resemble rich jeweling. Gallé's cameo glass vases and vessels were widely popular at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, cementing his position as a talented designer and pioneer.

During the late 19th century, Gallé led breakthroughs in mass production and employed hundreds of artisans in his workshop.

Botany and nature remained great sources of inspiration for the artist's glassmaking — just as they had for other Art Nouveau designers. From approximately 1890 to 1910, the movement’s talented designers produced furniture, glass and architecture in the form of — or adorned with — gently intertwining trees, flowers and vines. But Gallé had many interests, such as Eastern art and ceramics. The Japanese collection he visited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (then the South Kensington Museum) during the 1870s had made an impression too.