VASE

Between 1877 - 1884

Blown and hot-worked glass, polychrome enameled decoration, gilded highlights

H. 45.7 cm

Private collection

© Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd

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Lawrences Auctioneers Ltd, Antiques and collectables, Lot 0504, Bletchingley (England), February 2, 2016.

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Large four-footed flattened vase, in translucent blue blown glass, featuring extensive hot-worked detailing. The four-footed base, the neck stretched with pincers, and the long "tears" that emerge from it and extend onto the body contribute to the creation of a particularly dynamic form, with an organic and sculptural character.

At the center of the body opens a dark, almost black cavity, from which a golden, opaque cloud seems to escape, revealing a landscape of leafy trees. Three putti emerge from it, running as if in a frenzy, ready to fall to the ground. This astonishingly original composition subtly blends painted enamels, gilded highlights, glass applications, and reserves, in a true dialogue between the decoration and the form of the vase. Far from being a simple ornamental decoration, the composition here seems to come to life: the figures appear animated by the very movement of the vase and establish a veritable narrative scene with a Baroque sensibility, of which the viewer becomes a witness.

Several vases of comparable form are known today, demonstrating the artist's variation of the same model in different colors, decorations, and material treatments. This example, however, stands out for the exceptional quality of its painted decoration and the close interaction between the depicted scene, the form of the vase, and the organic character of the glass, making it a particularly rare and remarkable work. It testifies to Auguste Jean's great inventiveness.