POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Vase by Daum

Object No. 2007/119/1

Depicting a male gazelle with long slender horns on one side, and female on the other, this vase was made by the French glass manufacturer Daum (est.1878) around 1925. It is an example of Art Deco, the fashionable international style of the inter-war period (1918-39) which was often inspired by Cubism and African art. Daum excelled in the production of Art Deco glassware and its designers favoured geometric forms as well as thicker and more transparent glass which contrasted with slender shapes and flowing lines of Art Nouveau glassware so popular at the turn of the century. In the 1920s, the Art Nouveau colours inspired by nature changed to the colours which dominated contemporary abstract paintings, such as topaz, blues and ambers. Designs were increasingly monochromatic and variations of moon white, beige, glacier blue and light yellows were particularly popular. Vases, bowls and lamp shades no longer relied on the glassblowing technique but were cast and decorated with cut and acid-etched stylised patterns, as illustrated by this vase. The new manager Paul Daum was chemist by training and experimented with the use of hydrofluoric acid to vary surface textures of the glass. Towards the middle of the 1920s, friezes, volutes, curved beams or chevron patterns gave rhythm to compositions. Daum's Art Deco glass was shown at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industries Modernes in Paris. One of their vases on display was a deer vase almost identical to this example. The exhibition vase however, was smaller and the figures were rendered more naturalistically, for example the doe was represented with spots on its back. The Museum vase is larger, heavier and has bolder motifs. The two deer figures in particular, were further stylised to appear more dignified and poised, unmistakably Art Deco. The revised design, most likely produced not long after the Paris display, was issued in at least two colourways: smoky brown and olive green, as seen in this vase. Eva Czernis-Ryl, Curator, 2007 References J. Bloch-Dermant, 'Le Verre En France: D'Emile Gallé à Nos Jours', Editions de l'Amateur, 1986, p.49 C. Bacri, 'Daum, Masters of French Decorative Glass', Thames & Hudson, London, 1992, p.215 (ill)

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Summary

Object Statement

Vase, with gazelle motif, glass, made by Daum, Nancy, France, c. 1925

Physical Description

This heavy, cast and acid-etched glass vase with olive-green decoration has a flattened globular body and a short neck. One side features a stylised male gazelle shown in left profile and standing on a small patch of hilly ground. These motifs are acid-etched in cameo technique against clear frosted ground. A corresponding figure of a female gazelle features on the other side. Stylised trees and leafy branches complement the main motifs and olive-green scrolls decorate the neck between a narrow olive-green band and a green rounded lip.

DIMENSIONS

Height

306 mm

Width

265 mm

Depth

109 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

The vase was made by Daum in Nancy, France in about 1925.

HISTORY

Notes

The original 1925 vase was purchased directly from the exhibition by the Art and History Museum in Brussels but is now in the Daum collection.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Purchased with the assistance of the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society (Ku-ring-gai), 2007

Acquisition Date

12 September 2007

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