Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Cup Beetles, Daum Nancy Circa 1903

Daum Frères, Nancy – Art Nouveau Bowl with Applied Jewel Beetles, Powder Inclusions Glass, circa 1903 Daum Frères, Nancy · École de Nancy · Applied Jewel Beetles · Gold Foil · Exceptional Technique

A square bowl with rounded corners in Art Nouveau powder-inclusions glass, executed by the Daum Frères manufactory in Nancy circa 1903. Three applied beetles — one in ruby red (upper right), one in iridescent emerald green (centre), one in brown-orange (centre right) — each applied hot to the interior base over a metallic gold foil layer, then wheel-carved cold to reveal the anatomical details of the legs and elytra. The gold foil beneath each insect reflects light through the transparent coloured glass, creating the effect of living gemstones set in the glass — hence the term jewel beetles characteristic of this production. Interior ground in martelé glass with white, blue, green and yellow powder inclusions. Height 4.6 cm · 13.8 × 13.8 cm. Signed under the foot Daum Nancy with Cross of Lorraine.

The technique of applied coloured glass with metallic foil, wheel-carved cold is one of the most complex and labour-intensive in Daum Nancy's technical repertoire: the glassblower applies hot coloured glass cabochons over a precious metal foil while the glass is still molten, then after complete cooling the carver works each insect individually on the wheel, engraving the legs that extend into the bowl itself. The result — three gemstone-like insects set into the glass — is reserved for the most important pieces in Daum's production, described by specialists as museum-quality.

Beetles (Scarabaeidae) — references to both the naturalist entomology of the École de Nancy and the Egyptomania of the Belle Époque — are among the rarest and most sought-after motifs in Daum production. Daum Nancy received a Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. Its creations are represented in the collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, the Musée d'Orsay and the world's leading public collections.

• Height: 4.6 cm · Dimensions: 13.8 × 13.8 cm
• Technique: blown martelé glass · polychrome powder inclusions · three hot-applied beetles with gold foil · cold wheel-carving
• Beetles: ruby red · iridescent emerald green · brown-orange — each over gold foil
• Signature: Daum Nancy with Cross of Lorraine, under the foot
• Design and execution: Daum Frères, Nancy, circa 1903
• Condition: very good

Seen in museums — available to you.

Available for viewing by appointment at our Düsseldorf gallery.

Keywords integrated: Daum Nancy, jewel beetles bowl, applied glass gold foil, wheel carving, powder inclusions, Art Nouveau Nancy 1903, École de Nancy, scarabs, exceptional technique