VASE

Between 1877 and 1884

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

H. 27.6 cm

Private Collection

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Tajan, Arts Décoratifs du XXe siècle (sale 1634), Lot 3, Paris, May 25, 2016.

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Baluster vase with a tall, widely flared neck, in smoked orange blown glass, resting on a circular base. The neck is flanked by two lateral handles, pinched and stretched while hot. The vase is adorned with rich polychrome enameled decoration of Japanese inspiration. The flared neck features flowering branches among which butterflies flutter, while the body is occupied by a large silver-blue carp with mother-of-pearl reflections, depicted amidst aquatic plants. The carp motif, though attested in his work, remains relatively rare.

The decoration is distinguished by a subtle use of gilded highlights, employed both to emphasize certain motifs and to create delicate reserves revealing the translucency of the glass. This particularly refined technique is notably observable in the treatment of the carp's fins, suggesting lightness and movement.