Art Nouveau - Art Deco
Glass

The second auction on Tuesday is devoted to international glass of the first third of the 20th century. As always, French glass lies in the focus, with the famous glass manufacturers Gallé and Daum at the top.

We are delighted to offer you two of the rare 'Pluviose' / 'Une Pluie' vases from 1900 this time. Henri Bergé, head decorator at Daum Frères since 1897, took great care in designing the décor. You can literally hear the rain splashing down on the still leafless birch trees, battered by the spring storm. The two vases, with polychrome powder inclusions and etched, enamelled decor heightened with black solder, are estimated at EUR 5,000 - 6,000 and EUR 7,000 - 8,000 respectively.

Regarding Emile Gallé, his works before 1900 stand out in particular. His 'Anémones' vase was made in Meisenthal, before he founded his own glass workshop in Nancy. The shape and décor of the smoke brown vase with rich enamel décor do not allow a specific chronological assignment, therefore it is set in a time frame from 1874-96. The vase is estimated at EUR 2,200 - 2,800. The 'Sang-de-boeuf' étude bowl from 1895 suits the early Art Nouveau style more. The decoration on the discus shaped vessel with ox-blood-red overlay consists entirely of deep-cut stylized tendrils (SP EUR 1,600 - 2,000).

The main attraction in this auction, however, is the unusual table light 'Fruits tropicaux' by Gabriel Argy-Rousseau from the year 1925. The masterpiece made of thin pâte de verre is estimated at EUR 32,000 - 38,000.

Tuesday continued just as successfully with international glass. Here, too, a little over half of the lots on offer could be sold. This time the Daum Frères were able to defy their eternal competitor Emile Gallé and excelled with 69 knockdowns from 93 lots. The highest bids went to a rare 'Blé' vase from 1898 for EUR 6,500 (lot 103) and a beautiful handle vase with mushrooms from 1907, which climbed from EUR 4,000 to EUR 6,000 (lot 131). A small 'Muguet' vase from 1893 also caused a great surprise, increasing from an inexpensive EUR 300 to EUR 1,100 (lot 93). This time, however, the focus lay on the works of other glass manufacturers and artists. The rare fruits by Charles Schneider ('Tomato', lot 274, EUR 2,100), an extraordinary Intercalaire vase 'La Danse' by Muller Frères, which deservedly won a hammer price of EUR 4,600 (lot 257, SP 2,400 - 2,800) and a 'Masque Femme' bowl in pâte-de-verre by François Décorchemont (lot 179) which confirmed its estimated price at EUR 7,000. A lavishly designed early Intercalaire vase 'Papillon' by Eugène Kremer for Burgun, Schverer & Co. reached its upper estimate with a hammer price of EUR 12,000 (lot 84). However, the top lot of the afternoon was Gabriel Argy-Rousseau's table light 'Fruits Tropicaux'. The perfectly preserved table light made of translucent pâte-de-verre with stylised plants was knocked down for EUR 30,000.