Baccarat Saint-louis Crystal Candy Dish - Acid Etched

Baccarat crystal candy dish – Decorated with Japanese-style chrysanthemums, circa 1900

Elegant, bulbous Baccarat crystal candy dish with a base finely engraved with a delicate textured pattern reminiscent of fern fronds. The floral design, rendered in pink and enhanced by engraving, most likely depicts chrysanthemums, recognizable by their numerous fine, radiating petals, accompanied by stylized foliage. The piece is particularly characteristic of Japonism, a style that was very much in vogue in French art and design of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The crystal is topped with a gilded metal lid, surmounted by a knob and extended by an elegant circular handle adorned at its top with a floral motif. The richness of this setting underscores the object’s precious and refined character.

This piece can be dated to around 1900, a period when Baccarat produced numerous Art Nouveau objects featuring botanical and Japonist motifs. The manufactory drew heavily on Japanese art at the time, particularly in its use of flowers, foliage, and asymmetrical compositions. The chrysanthemum, the Japanese imperial emblem, was a particularly sought-after motif in these pieces.

Although unsigned, like many Baccarat pieces from this era, this candy box nevertheless features a design and level of craftsmanship highly characteristic of the manufacturer. Pieces produced before 1936 might have borne a simple paper label, which has often since disappeared.