- A comprehensive survey of the glass lamps designed by a towering figure of the Art Nouveau era
Although renowned for his work as a verrier, lamps did not form a significant part of Gallé's repertoire in glass until immediately prior to 1900. Indeed, only in the last few years of his life does it appear that he realised the full aesthetic potential of opalescent glass viewed by transmitted light.
In an Art Nouveau context, Gallé's creations reached their apogee between 1900 and his death in 1904, a brief period during which he adapted the shape of much of his glassware to its theme. Vases decorated with lilies became lily-shaped in a marriage of form and function. Fully-ripened gourds pendent on their vines glowed from within at the touch of a switch. Mushroom lamps brought the concept to full embodiment in the metamorphosis of the giant fungi into light fixtures.
This comprehensive volume catalogues the full range of light fixtures produced by the Gallé cristallerie, from those made during his lifetime to those manufactured for more than twenty-five years after his death. Including table, bedside, hanging and wall models, Gallé Lamps reveals the extraordinary variety of thematic shade-and-base combinations introduced by the firm: butterflies, moths, dragonflies, swallows and eagles hover, flutter, glide or swoop over flora and mountain vistas in a seemingly endless interplay of Nature's decorative motifs.
This volume is a companion to Gallé Furniture ISBN 9781851496624.
Alastair Duncan, an officer and then consultant of Christie's, New York, for fourteen years (1977-1990), is an independent consultant for 19th and 20th Century Decorative Arts. While full-time at Christie's, he organised and catalogued scores of sales devoted to Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Victorian works of art. Then and since, Mr. Duncan has travelled throughout the United States, the Far East, Europe, and South America to appraise, assemble and sell collections from the period. Mr Duncan has written many articles, exhibition catalogues and books, including several for the Antique Collectors' Club, including Louis C. Tiffany: Garden Museum Collection, Tiffany Lamps and Metalware and the Paris Salons series.
