Vase

Physical description

Designed by Emile Galle, for the Galle glassworks. It was shown in the international exhibition, Paris, 1900. Like many of his contemporaries Galle was very influenced by Japanese design. He was also a trained botanist and these two interests are combined in the decoration of this vase. Inscribed "Galle Exposition 1900"and "chrysanthemum"in Greek, enamelled.

Place of Origin

Nancy, France (made)

Date

1900 (made)

Artist/maker

Gallé, Emile Charles Martin, born 1846 - died 1904 (designer)
Cristallerie de Gallé (manufacturer)

Materials and Techniques

Acid-etched glass, enamelled and gilded

Marks and inscriptions

'Gallé Exposition 1900'
'chrysanthemum'

Dimensions

Height: 47.0 cm, Diameter: 27.2 cm maximum

Descriptive line

Vase, France, Lorraine (Nancy), designed by Emile Gallé, for Gallé glassworks, 1900-1900

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Arwas, Room 8 labels etc; Aslin, E French Exbn Pieces; Dusseldorf, Glas des Jugendstil, etc etc (check); Garner, P.: Emile Gallé, 1976; Emile Gallé: Ecrits pour l'Art, Paris, 1908 (pub. psth.); Rosenthal, L: Gazette des Beaux Arts XV 1927; Wichmann, S: Japonisme, London, 1981; Charpentier, F-T: Gallé. Musée de Luxembourg, 1985-6, Paris
Baker, Malcolm and Richardson, Brenda, eds. A Grand Design : The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V&A Publications, 1997. 431 p., ill. ISBN 1851773088.
Shown at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, this elegant vase was purchased from Gallé by the Museum itself, rather than as part of the controversial Donaldson gift (see cats. 165-166). The vase's decoration of stylized chrysanthemums is characteristic of Gallé's introspective and slightly morbid symbolism; he would have been well aware of the chrysanthemum's Japanese significance as an imperial flower as well as the flower's French association with funerals and death. A serious student of both science and art, Gallé was familiar with Chinese glass and hard stones, which he studied at the South Kensington Museum when he was in London for the international exhibition of 1871; thirteen years later in Berlin he saw the Brandt collection of Chinese glass, as well as Islamic glass. From the 1880s, he developed a passion for Japanese lacquer and prints; like many other late-nineteenth-century French artists, he adopted a style that came to be called Japonisme, perhaps the single most significant precursor of Art Nouveau.
Spending only £258 19s. from its own funds, the Museum's choice of objects from the 1900 exhibition was more conservative than those chosen by Donaldson. From that perspective, this vase (purchased for £7 19s. 6d.) fits within the established "Japanese" style. Part of the "New Art" collection exhibited in Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Dublin following its first, contentious showing in the Museum, the vase apparently remained in storage until 1971.

Lit. Gallé, 1908; Garner, 1976; Charpentier, 1985-86; Morris, 1986

JENNIFER H. OPIE
Ruriko, Tsuchida, Igaki Mariko and Seki Kanako, eds. Gallé and Japonisme. translation Japanese-English, Ruth S. McCreery et al, (Osaka: Suntory Museum of Art, 2008) pp.138-139. ill.
Coutts, Howard, Emile Gallé and the Origins of Art Nouveau(County Durham, The Bowes Museum, 2007). ISBN 0-9548182-6-7.

Exhibition History

The Victoria and Albert Museum: Art and Design For All (Kunst und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn 18/11/2011-15/04/2012)
The Victoria and Albert Museum: Art and Design For All (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest 14/06/2012-16/09/2012)
Emile Gallé and the Origins of Art Nouveau (The Bowes Museum 29/09/2007-20/01/2008)
A Japanese Born in Nancy: Galle and Japonisme (The Suntory Museum of Art, Osaka 24/05/2008-13/07/2008)
A Japanese Born in Nancy: Galle and Japonisme (The Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo 20/03/2008-11/05/2008)
A Grand Design - The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum 12/10/1999-16/01/2000)

Labels and date

This vase was shown in the international exhibition, Paris, 1900, bought for £13.19.1d from a special but small fund of £111.18.6d put aside for the purpose. Like many of his contemporaries Gallé was very influenced by Japanese design. He was also a trained botanist and these two interests are combined in the decoration of this vase. Gallé's art is particularly characterised by his interest in symbolism especially of the more morbid and introspective type. The chrysanthemums in the decoration here would not have been used lightly, carrying as they do both their Japanese significance as an Imperial flower and their French association with funerals and death. Furthermore, the decoration has been applied on both the inside and outside surfaces, adding to the shimmering, three-dimensional effect.

Subjects depicted

Flowers; Chrysanthemum

Categories

Containers; Glass; Vases

Collection code

CER