VASE

Between 1877 and 1884

Blown and hot-worked glass, polychrome enamel decoration, heightened with gilding

H. 35.5 cm; W. 12 cm

Ghent - Design Museum (FH-0014_2-2)

© Design Museum Ghent

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Acquired by the museum from Galerie L'Ecuyer (Brussels) in 1989.

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Tripod vase with a triangular base made of translucent smoked glass tinted yellow for the body, and amethyst pink glass for the hot-applied base. Each of the three feet extends into a thin undulating "rib" that rises over the belly to the neck, stretched with pliers. The surface is enlivened with rich polychrome enamel decoration of florets and intertwined ribbons that evoke the motifs of traditional Japanese textiles. Gilded accents and metallic effects enrich the polychromy and accentuate the contrasts of material and light. The extensive hot-working gives the piece a resolutely organic character.

Several vases of comparable shape are known today. The Design Museum Ghent notably holds a second example, in poorer condition, which presents a composition entirely comparable, despite some variations in the arrangement of the enameled decoration. The acquisition of this example by the museum in 1989 retrospectively highlights the remarkable and resolutely modern character of this work within 19th-century glass production.