Vintage Gallé Style Art Glass Vase with Wine-Red Floral Design
This vintage Japanese art-glass vase is characterized by highly recognizable Gallé Style cased-glass technique. The body has a soft milky-white glass ground overlaid with deep wine-red, jujube-red and blackish-red tones; through layered cutting or acid etching, large floral and leaf designs emerge, giving the whole a strong feeling of European Art Nouveau. The vase has a small mouth, narrow neck and round body, with full, stable proportions. The deep wine-red neck draws the composition together at the top, while broad flowers and leaves spread across the belly. The milky-white ground and deep red motifs contrast sharply, making the flower outlines stand out, and when light falls on it one can sense the variations in depth between the glass layers. Its style is very close to the naturalistic plant aesthetic pursued by European Art Nouveau glass of the late 19th to early 20th century: rather than strict symmetry, the composition is built from flowers, leaves and soft curves.