Emile Galle (1846-1904) French, Cameo Glass Art Nouveau Banjo Vase. One of the most popular shapes from the artist's company, this piece has a light greenish hue throughout, with delicately detailed purple flowers and leaves covering it. Signed on the side. A masterful piece of early French art glass craftsmanship. 

Condition: Overall great. Commensurate with age. 

Size: 2 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. 

Emile Gallé was born on May 4th, 1846 in Nancy, France. His father, Charles Gallé, was a merchant of glassware and ceramics. Émile studied philosophy and natural science at the Lycée Imperial, and at the age of sixteen became an assistant to his father, making floral designs and emblems for both faience and glass. In his spare time he studied with D.A. Godron, the director of the Botanical Gardens of Nancy and author of the leading textbooks on French flora. He took courses in painting and made numerous drawings of plants, flowers, animals, and insects in France and as far away as Italy and Switzerland, which later became his subjects of decoration. He went to Weimar in Germany from 1862 to 1866 to continue his studies in philosophy, botany, sculpture and drawing. Afterwards he worked as an apprentice at the glass factory of Burgun & Schwerer in Meisenthal, Lorraine, becoming an expert on the chemistry of glass production. Some of his early glass and faience works were displayed at the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition. In 1869 he met the painter, sculptor, and engraver Victor Prouvé, an artist of the romantic “troubadour” style who became his future collaborator in the Nancy School. He enlisted and fought in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, but after the disastrous French defeat in 1871 the Cross of Lorraine, the patriotic symbol of the region lost to Germany, became part of his signature on many of his works. Émile traveled to London to represent his father at an exhibition, then to Paris, where he remained for several months, visiting the Louvre and Cluny Museum. He studied Ancient Egyptian art, Roman glassware and ceramics, and especially early Islamic enameled glass, a technique which influenced him later. He returned to France to open his own workshop at his father’s glass company, eventually taking over the firm by 1874. The following year Émile married Henriette Grimm, and in 1883 he built newer and larger workshops for glass and faience manufacture, as well as for making furniture. In 1885 he opened his first shop in Paris at 12 rue Richter, followed by ones in Frankfurt-am-Maine and London. By 1889 he had over three hundred employees, and trained every designer himself. His presentations at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the 1900 Paris Universal Exposition garnered him international recognition, as well as the title of a commander in the Legion of Honor. In 1901 Émile became the founder and first President of the École de Nancy, and later the Université Populaire de Nancy, to better educate his workers. Much of his later work used symbolism, and he became heavily involved in social causes. He was treasurer of the Human Rights League of France and publicly defended Alfred Dreyfus, as well as Romanian Jews and Irish Catholics. In 1904 Émile was diagnosed with leukemia, and died on September 23rd of that year. His son-in-law took over the company, but did not keep up with the new styles, and the firm eventually went out of business in 1931. Today Émile’s furniture, cased glass, colored glass, and cameo glass are highly sought after by collectors, and his innovative perfection of marquetry is considered paramount to the evolution of art glass throughout the 20th Century. His style, with its emphasis on naturalism and floral motifs, was at the forefront of the emerging Art Nouveau movement, with some art historians naming him the father of the style in the world of glass.

Overall great. Commensurate with age.