Art Nouveau Wheat And Poppy Cameo Glass Vase, Design: Daum Frères Nancy, France 1900

Daum Frères, Nancy – Art Nouveau Soliflore Vase, Poppies and Wheat, circa 1900 Daum Frères, Nancy · École de Nancy · Powder Inclusions Glass · Enamelled and Gilt · Signed Daum Nancy with Cross of Lorraine

An Art Nouveau soliflore vase with cylindrical body slightly flared at the base on a green disc foot, executed by the Daum Frères manufactory in Nancy circa 1900. Combined technique of exceptional complexity: blown glass with martelé surface and vertical coloured powder inclusions in orange and white creating a luminous striped ground; decoration of wheat ears (Triticum) in ochre-brown and poppies (Papaver) in orange-red with violet centres, painted in enamel on the body; lower border with geometric ornaments — triangles and circular motifs — painted in gold. Height 15.3 cm. Signed under the foot in enamel: Daum Nancy with Cross of Lorraine.

The coloured powder inclusions — a pioneering technique of Daum Nancy, developed in the 1890s — consist of incorporating coloured glass powders into the molten glass which, during blowing, distribute themselves into characteristic vertical streaks. Combined with polychrome enamelling and gilding, this technique produces an object whose surface constitutes a pictorial work in its own right. The poppy, a recurring naturalistic motif of the École de Nancy, here evokes the French wheat field in its full chromatic intensity — burning orange against a luminous striped ground.

The Daum Cristallerie, founded in Nancy in 1878 by Jean Daum (1825–1885) and developed by his sons Auguste Daum (1853–1909) and Antonin Daum (1864–1931), was with Gallé the reference house of French Art Nouveau glass. It received a Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 — the probable year of execution of this vase. After Gallé's death in 1904, Daum became the leading name in French decorative glass. More than 600 pieces from the Manufactory are held in the collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy. Daum Nancy creations are also represented at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and the world's leading decorative arts museums.

• Height: 15.3 cm
• Technique: blown martelé glass · vertical coloured powder inclusions · polychrome enamelling · gilding · green glass foot
• Decoration: wheat ears (Triticum) and poppies (Papaver) · geometric gilt border
• Signature: Daum Nancy with Cross of Lorraine, in enamel under the foot
• Design and execution: Daum Frères, Nancy, circa 1900
• Condition: very good

Seen in museums — available to you.

Available for viewing by appointment at our Düsseldorf gallery.

Keywords integrated: Daum Nancy, vase poppies wheat, coloured powder inclusions, enamelled gilt, Art Nouveau Nancy 1900, École de Nancy, Cross of Lorraine, Musée Beaux-Arts Nancy, Musée d'Orsay