Exquisite Emilé Gallé French Art Nouveau, Large Boat Shaped Cameo Vase with Hydrangeas – circa 1905

This exquisite example of a cameo glass vase with hydrangea flowers is one of the outstanding works by the French artist Émile Gallé (1846-1904), who worked in the Art Nouveau style.

The upright boat shape on an oval neck piece with a slightly flared rim has hydrangea decoration acid etched in violet and green, in various stages or overlay layers. Cameo signature “Gallé with a “star” is on the side of the lower half. This “star” is the standard Gallé mark used on vases that were made after the death of Emile Gallé 1904.

Cameo glass is glass overlaid with several layers of high cut motifs. Gallé further developed this glass art and created Art Nouveau designs with subtle transitions in colour that were made possible by the innovative technique of chemically treating multi-layered coloured glass. This technique, invented by Émile Gallé, consisted of etching one or two top layers of glass with acid. With the help of a brush and a solution of acids, the artist removed one layer of colored glass after another and thus created a masterpiece.

Émile Gallé is considered to be one of the major innovators in the French Art Nouveau movement. He was noted for his designs of Art Nouveau glass and furniture, employing a large factory as well as being the founder of the Nancy School, a movement of design in the city of Nancy, France.

A large number of his glass works, especially vases, are inspired by and named for flowers. He was a dedicated botanist, and had an extensive flower garden at this residence as a source of models. He also required his artists to use actual plants as models if they were depicting them. They also had a strong symbolic appeal for Gallé. The meaning of hydrangeas varies culturally. In Japan, for example blue hydrangeas signify heartfelt emotion and apology whereas in Europe they can symbolize “single hood”.

Today this Art Nouveau cameo vase is the embodiment of the original “Gallé style” truly a collector’s piece.

Dimensions: width 12″ x height 6 3/4 x 7 inches deep