The Paris Salons céramics and glass vol 4

Writer : Duncan Alastair

Editor : Antiques Collectors Club

As in the previous volumes in the series (jewellery and furniture) the author has produced a complete visual record of the ceramic and glass wares produced as the 19th century turned into the 20th century. One has only to open the book at random to appreciate the enormous and diverse output of both independent artist-craftsmen and commercial manufactories. For the former, each piece a work of art in its own right; for the latter, standardisation was paramount.

Study of the individual firms' wares illustrated here shows the contrast between the late 19th century craftsman and his early 20th century counterpart. In the field of glass, this is no better epitomised than in the work of Emile Gallé, whose technical and artistic genius astounds today's connoisseurs even more perhaps than his original audience, and that of René Lalique, whose career as a manufacturer of mass-produced glass began around 1904, the year of Gallé's death.

Of the independent firms making up the ceramics industry, these were widely scattered throughout the country and encompassed an infinite number of small ateliers, and the pictorial evidence in these pages clearly illustrates not only the craftsmen's enthusiasms for materials, shapes and glazes, but also the outstanding work they produced.

The turn of the century saw a remarkable rejuvenation at the Sèvres manufactory when it produced an extraordinary volume of pieces in the Modernist idiom. Many of the finest works were commissioned by the State and as a result the limited circulation has delayed collector recognition of their beauty. This volume will serve, therefore, as an encyclopaedic reference for original source material.

With some 950 ceramic and over 300 glassware illustrations, many of them showing several pieces, this book will aid recognition of items by designer, and serve as an indispensable guide and inspiration for scholars, artist-designers and dealers in these two key areas of the decorative arts.