Émile Gallé
Vase

Public Domain

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Designer Émile Gallé (French, 1846–1904)French, 1846–1904

CultureFrench

Titles

Vase

Datec. 1895–1900

PlaceNancy, France

MediumGlass

DimensionsOverall: 10 1/2 × 5 9/16 in. diameter (26.7 × 14.1 cm)

Credit LineGift of J. Brian and Varina Eby

Object number73.141

Current Location

The Audrey Jones Beck Building

227 Beck Galleries

On view

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Department

Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design

Object Type

GLASS

DescriptionNineteenth-century glassmaker Emile Gallé was famous for his dramatic, sometimes disturbing, evocations of nature. He carved the glass in Vase to resemble blood-red water lilies floating on cool green water. An artist of remarkable technical skill and inventiveness, Gallé inherited and expanded his father's ceramics and glass business, becoming the leading maker of Art Nouveau glass in France by the end of the 19th century. Gallé explored widely ranging techniques that included historical methods such as cameo cutting, acid etching, engraving, enameling, and mold blowing, as well as novel experiments with powdered colors, metallic foils, and inlay. To create Vase, Gallé manipulated layers of glass. An inner, pale green underlayer was encased in red glass that was then carved away in a cameo technique to reveal the green underneath.
Provenancede Chambrun collection; J. Brian and Varina Eby, Houston; given to MFAH, 1973.
Exhibition History"The Twentieth Century: Decorative Arts from the Permanent Collection," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, September 30, 1995 thru February 18, 1996

"Containers and Vessels," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston October 21, 1989 - January 1990 Subsequent tour

"Defining Modern: European Design 1890-1935," MFA,H, Andrews Gallery, 8/26/01 - 11/11/01, Curator: C. Strauss

"Circa 1900: Decorative Arts at the Turn of the Century," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Alice Pratt Brown Gallery, February 26-July 31, 2011.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Gallé

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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