Daum

Christophe Bardin, Daum, 1878-1939 : une industrie d’art lorraine, Metz, 2004, p. 167, for a related example

In around 1900, French art glass was to enter a golden age of manufacture. The discovery of the arts of Japan and China at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 was a liberating experience for many European designers, who were able to free themselves from the stylistic constraints of the past. Of central importance was the depiction of the natural world, which would become the primary source of inspiration and the plant kingdom unfurls wonderfully in the creations of the three great masters of glass art in the early twentieth century: Émile Gallé, the Daum brothers and of course René Lalique. Each designer developed in his own language of ornament and colour to celebrate the beauty of nature.

Brothers Antonin and Auguste Daum developed an artistic production from 1890 employing a myriad of innovative techniques. Acid etching was often combined with carving, enameling and engraving on a single piece of glass, with the most complicated creations often incorporating applied glass elements, such as handles and ornamental motifs in naturalistic forms. Indeed the Vignes et Escargots vase is an exquisite example of the brothers' research and production, with its vibrant colours, cameo-engraved vines and whimsical applied handles in a form of snails. The vase can be dated to a very narrow time of Daum manufacturing (1904) because it is signed in two places.

Together with Émile Gallé, Daum was awarded a ‘Grand Prix’ medal during the Universal Exhibition of 1900, cementing their international reputation. Today, the works by Daum are presented in the greatest private collections and international museums.