Of the thousands of Daum Nancy vases I’ve sold over the years, some are more memorable than others. The vase pictured above is one of them.
Personally, I think it’s gorgeous, with vivid, blue hydrangea flowers and a butterfly on the front and another insect on the reverse. The outline of the decoration was first acid-etched into the glass, then exquisitely hand-painted with enamel.
The cabochons were molten applied with clear glass on top of colored metal foil. When the vase cooled, an artist hand-carved the facets into them. The effect is to make the cabochons appear as if they are colored, but they are clear. The light from the foil is refracted, making the glass appear colored. (You can see there is no color around the top edge of both the red and green cabochons.)
The geometric decoration around the bottom and around the cabochons was acid-etched into the vase, then gilded. Finally the entire vase was fired, making all of the decoration permanent.
Now that you know all of the work involved in creating this vase, you can truly appreciate its sophistication and beauty.
Do you have any good Daum, A. Walter or Argy-Rousseau glass that you want to sell? Please offer it to me.
Let me know what interests you, even if you don’t see it on my website. I’ve got lots of items that I haven’t listed yet and I know how to locate what you desire.
I listed some of the new items on my website and will list more every week. Click Philip Chasen Antiques to take a look. I will make every effort to actively list new items as often as time permits. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.
