It must have been something truly extraordinary when it first appeared: the new French glass. Warm in color, organic in form, with twisting stems, lush leaves, and sometimes even an insect or perhaps a beetle among the foliage, as if striving up from the earth through the glass toward the light.
This new aesthetic soon became known as Art Nouveau — the “new art” — and its unmistakable figurehead was Émile Gallé.
At Bidstrup Auctions, we are invited to explore the remarkable pieces he created around the turn of the 20th century. Among the 17 selected lots, there are several tall vases with delicate decoration, as well as a glimpse of Gallé’s time at St. Clément in the form of a dish in a chinoiserie style.
