Edmond Lachenal

Bamboo Embrace C0164

Inventory Number
C0164Size
12 3/4" H x 9 1/2" WPeriod
Art NouveauCountry of Origin
FranceYear Made
1911Status
available

Description

Undoubtedly one of Lachenal's most famous creations, this model dates from 1893. It offers an excellent example of his representational style of Japonisme, in which sculptural and painted elements dominate the décor. Superbly integrated into the vase's form, the bamboo motif emerges from the neck as modeled stem handles, then descends to the base as high-relief branches sprouting low-relief and painted foliage. The combination of glossy and velvet opaque glazes was achieved by using hydroflouric acid to selectively remove the glossy upper layer. Lachenal had developed this technique by 1893 and continued to use it on stoneware and earthenware into the 1910s, as shown by the date on the present piece, 1911. Evidently Lachenal felt it still had commercial value despite the shift toward a more classical style of Orientalism in French ceramics after 1910. The model had been exhibited at the Galerie Georges Petit in 1896, and included in Gustave Larroumet's survey of French ceramics from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Marks: 15P83 ; Lachenal [impressed]; EL ; 1911 [painted]