Émile Gallé "Elephant" Cameo Glass Vase
Regular price
$85,000
Crafted for the 1925 Paris Universal Exhibition, Établissements Gallé’s Elephant Vase is thought to commemorate the Croisière Noire, a highly publicized French expedition that crossed the African continent. Its design shows dark brown elephants marching beneath palm trees and swirling clouds across a luminous yellow ground, rendered through expertly cut layers of cameo glass. The clouds are stylized after the unmon, a Japanese cloud motif widely used throughout East Asia and, after water patterns, among the most frequently employed decorative designs. Together, these elements transform the vase into both a technical tour de force of cameo glass and a visual emblem of the global spectacle and colonial imagination celebrated at the exposition.
Item #: YG-22090
Artist: Émile Gallé
Country: France
Circa: 1925
Dimensions: 15.25" height, 11" diameter.
Materials: Glass
Signed: Gallé
Exhibition History: Reference: A comparable model can be found in the collections of the Chrysler Museum, Institute of Glass, USA under the inventory number: 71.6640
Literature: • A copy with the same decoration is reproduced in the book by Alastair Duncan and Georges de Bartha, Gallé, glass, Éditions Library des arts 1984, plate 301 page 197.
• Copy reproduced in one of Tim Newark's book, Emile Gallé, Éditions Soline 1990 and page 121.
• A similar copy is reproduced in the book of Kiyoshi Suzuki, Glass of Art Nouveau, Editions Mitsumura Suiko Shoin 1994 plate 227 page 185.
• A comparable example is reproduced in Victor Arwas' book, Glass, Art Nouveau to Art Deco, Subsequent Publishing 1987, page 141.
Item #: YG-22090
Artist: Émile Gallé
Country: France
Circa: 1925
Dimensions: 15.25" height, 11" diameter.
Materials: Glass
Signed: Gallé
Exhibition History: Reference: A comparable model can be found in the collections of the Chrysler Museum, Institute of Glass, USA under the inventory number: 71.6640
Literature: • A copy with the same decoration is reproduced in the book by Alastair Duncan and Georges de Bartha, Gallé, glass, Éditions Library des arts 1984, plate 301 page 197.
• Copy reproduced in one of Tim Newark's book, Emile Gallé, Éditions Soline 1990 and page 121.
• A similar copy is reproduced in the book of Kiyoshi Suzuki, Glass of Art Nouveau, Editions Mitsumura Suiko Shoin 1994 plate 227 page 185.
• A comparable example is reproduced in Victor Arwas' book, Glass, Art Nouveau to Art Deco, Subsequent Publishing 1987, page 141.
The Croisière Noire was one of several promotional missions sponsored by André Citroën, organized with the support of the Société de Géographie and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle to demonstrate the capabilities of Citroën’s new half-track vehicles. The expedition was widely publicized through photographs, a documentary film, and numerous works of art presented at the fair as promotional material.The vase’s imagery reflects a broader fashion at the exposition for depicting the exotic flora and fauna associated with France’s overseas colonies.
The Croisière Noire was one of several promotional missions sponsored by André Citroën, organized with the support of the Société de Géographie and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle to demonstrate the capabilities of Citroën’s new half-track vehicles. The expedition was widely publicized through photographs, a documentary film, and numerous works of art presented at the fair as promotional material.The vase’s imagery reflects a broader fashion at the exposition for depicting the exotic flora and fauna associated with France’s overseas colonies.
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