Émile Gallé Enameled Glass "Dragon" Vase
Regular price
$125,000
This early monumental enameled glass vase by Émile Gallé depicts a three-toed dragon in tones of teal, black, white, and yellow, captured in mid-flight. The design draws upon a Renaissance prototype popularized by Paolo Uccello, characterized by concentric circular scales derived from heraldic stylization and recalling the osteoderms of a crocodile’s back.
The dragon is enlivened with incisive details—molar-like teeth, a forked tongue, gill-like facial appendages, and banded horns—while thin applications of white enamel create the illusion of translucent wings. A brunaille rendering of the body against the ground enhances depth and modeling, lending the creature a sculptural presence.
The background, conceived in a palette evocative of ink on raw silk, pays homage to the Japanese kakemono (hanging scroll), whose compositional restraint and tonal subtlety profoundly influenced Gallé in the 1880s and 1890s. The vase’s body shifts from transparency at the upper register to increasing opacity toward the base, forming a horizontal gradient that suggests sky, horizon, and earth. A lower border of teal anthemia imparts a classical accent, while an applied ring foot provides an architectural conclusion to the form.
Item #: YG-22126
Artist: Émile Gallé
Country: France
Circa: 1890
Dimensions: 30" height.
Materials: Enameled Glass
Signed: Gallé
Literature: Garner, Philippe. 1976. Emile Gallé. London, New York: Academy Editions ; St. Martin’s Press. p.19
Item #: YG-22126
Artist: Émile Gallé
Country: France
Circa: 1890
Dimensions: 30" height.
Materials: Enameled Glass
Signed: Gallé
Literature: Garner, Philippe. 1976. Emile Gallé. London, New York: Academy Editions ; St. Martin’s Press. p.19
Émile Gallé was deeply influenced by Chinese and Japanese design early in his career. His fascination with Japanese art can be traced to his friendship with Hokkai Takashima (1850–1931), a Japanese nobleman, botanist, and member of the École de Nancy. Takashima introduced Gallé to the refined aesthetics of Japanese woodblock prints and textile patterns, whose asymmetry, naturalism, and graphic clarity would resonate throughout his work.
Gallé’s stylization was also shaped by heraldic design. After completing his artistic training, he supported himself by designing coats of arms for minor noble families and industrialists. This early commercial practice enriched his formal vocabulary with emblematic motifs—among them dragons—which he later reinterpreted within his decorative glass and furniture.
Émile Gallé was deeply influenced by Chinese and Japanese design early in his career. His fascination with Japanese art can be traced to his friendship with Hokkai Takashima (1850–1931), a Japanese nobleman, botanist, and member of the École de Nancy. Takashima introduced Gallé to the refined aesthetics of Japanese woodblock prints and textile patterns, whose asymmetry, naturalism, and graphic clarity would resonate throughout his work.
Gallé’s stylization was also shaped by heraldic design. After completing his artistic training, he supported himself by designing coats of arms for minor noble families and industrialists. This early commercial practice enriched his formal vocabulary with emblematic motifs—among them dragons—which he later reinterpreted within his decorative glass and furniture.
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