Bowl
Daum Frères
Life Story
This round bowl with a quatrefoil rim is a product of Daum Fréres, a glassmaking firm that was run by the brothers, Auguste Daum (1853-1909) and Antonin Daum (1864-1930). [1] In 1900, Daum Frères were awarded the Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle in Paris for their technically innovative Art Nouveau glassware. [2]
The bowl was manufactured in a colourless glass and given a satin surface. Additions of purple powder melts in the stand area cast a violet light around the bowl’s base. The bowl has been etched with a floral decoration and hand painted in coloured enamels with a naturalistic design of violets. This attractive pattern of violets was applied to various forms manufactured by Daum Glassworks (see Sainsbury Centre Collection No. 21043).
The wall of the vessel bears the cameo mark ‘Daum Nancy France’ with the cross of Lorraine. Glass artist, Émile Gallé (1846-1904), incorporated this patriotic symbol into his signature and the Daum Glassworks followed his example.
The cross of Lorraine is a reference to the annexation of French territory at the end of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, which resulted in the separation of Metz (Alsace-Lorraine) from southern Lorraine. The two horizontal bars of the cross represent the region’s divided cities, Metz and Nancy. Following the war the cross was displayed as a symbol of anti-German resistance and expressed French desire for reunification. [3]
France reacted to its territorial loss by investing in the city of Nancy and strengthening the surrounding region politically and economically. In the years that followed, émigrés fled from Germany to Nancy, bringing with them investment capital and artisanal skills. One such immigrant was Jean Daum (1825-1885), the founder of the ‘Verrèrie de Nancy’ and father of Auguste and Antonin Daum. [4]
Vanessa Tothill, January 2021
[1] Amanda Geitner and Emma Hazell, ed., The Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau (Norwich: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, 2003), pp. 130-31.
[2] Geitner, p. 131.
[3] Peter Clericuzio, ‘Memory and Mass Mobilization: The Material Culture of the Alsace-Lorraine Question, 1885-1919’, The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 27, ‘Souvenirs and Objects of Remembrance’ (2015), pp. 172-195, (p. 180).
[4] Klaus-Jürgen Sembach, Art Nouveau (Köln: Taschen, 2000), pp. 65-66.
Further Reading
Amaya, Mario, Art Nouveau (London: Dutton Vista, 1966)
Clericuzio, Peter, ‘Memory and Mass Mobilization: The Material Culture of the Alsace-Lorraine Question, 1885-1919’, The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 27, ‘Souvenirs and Objects of Remembrance’ (2015), pp. 172-195.
Geitner, Amanda and Emma Hazell, ed., The Anderson Collection of Art Nouveau (Norwich: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, 2003)
Greenhalgh, Paul, ed., Art Nouveau, 1890-1914 (London: V&A Publications, 2000)
Greenhalgh, Paul, ed., The Nature of Dreams: England and the Formation of Art Nouveau (Norwich: Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, 2020)
Sembach, Klaus-Jürgen, Art Nouveau. Utopia: Reconciling the Irreconcilable (Köln and London: Taschen, 2000)
Not on display
Title/Description: Bowl
Born: 1910 c.
Object Type: Bowl
Technique: Enameling, Etching
Measurements: h. 70 x w. 160 x d. 160 mm
Inscription: 'Daum Nancy France'
Accession Number: 21042
Historic Period: 20th century
Production Place: France, Nancy
School/Style: Art Nouveau
Credit Line: Donated by Sir Colin and Lady Anderson, 1978
