Bowl, Laubwald,

1908

Dark tree trunks grow up from a sun-drenched forest floor on the flattened sides of the bowl, evoking a romantic woodland atmosphere. Looking beyond their leafy crowns to the inside of the bowl, the light falling through the walls creates a perfect three-dimensional illusion. The extremely intricate enamel painting almost completely covers the colorless glass with its yellow powder inclusions. The vessel itself was blown in a metallic mold. It was then given its final form through elaborate manual cold processing, involving grinding and etching, and finished with painted-on decor—a technique that Daum Frères used even on miniature vases. The brothers Auguste (1854–1909) and Antonin Daum (1864–1930) took over the glassworks in 1887 from their father, Jean (1825-1883), and Daum Frères shifted its focus to producing art glass. In the town of Nancy in eastern France, which next to Paris had developed into a second center of Art Nouveau, they joined the École de Nancy, an association founded in 1901 on the initiative of their competitor Emile Gallé. The aim of the organization was to represent the interests of the Lorraine artists in joint exhibitions as well as to train and promote the next generation of talent. (Sabine Flaschberger)