Gallé Diabolo Vase With Grape Decoration, Formerly Daum Legras

Émile Gallé – Diabolo Vase with Grape Design

An elegant diabolo-shaped vase made of multilayered glass, signed by Émile Gallé, the undisputed master of the École de Nancy and a leading figure in French Art Nouveau in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The slender body features a remarkable botanical design of grape clusters and foliage, delicately etched in acid-etched cameo. The motifs stand out in warm orange-red tones against an amber-yellow background, creating a subtle interplay of transparency and contrast. The composition flows harmoniously onto the neck and lower part of the vase, while its diabolo shape—narrower at the center and resting on a flared circular base—gives it a particularly elegant silhouette.

The choice of grapes—an age-old motif in decorative art—evokes nature, abundance, and the cycles of the vineyard. It fits perfectly into the world of Émile Gallé, for whom the plant kingdom was an inexhaustible source of inspiration.

As the founder of the École de Nancy in 1901, Émile Gallé played an active role in the renewal of the decorative arts. His work is characterized by meticulous observation of nature, constant experimentation with materials and colors, and a remarkable mastery of glassmaking techniques, particularly acid-etched multilayered glass.

This vase exemplifies this aesthetic exploration, in which the material itself becomes a true medium for artistic expression. It is a beautiful piece that embodies the refinement and naturalistic sensibility of Art Nouveau.