58
Émile Gallé
Rare vase
Estimate
£15,000 - 20,000
Sold For
£19,050
Lot Details
circa 1884
Wheel-carved, overlaid, and acid-etched glass with inclusions of coloured powders.
8.2 cm (3 1/4 in.) high, 7.9 cm (3 1/8 in.) diameter
Engraved gallé.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
The cicada motif used in the present vase fits within Gallé's broader oeuvre which featured thematic inclusion of plant and animal imagery. This insect is understood to be a melancholic symbol of the fleeting quality of happiness and reminder of mortality, characterised here by the brevity of its song for just a few short weeks at the end of the cicada’s life cycle after spending years buried underground.
Provenance
Literature