Inventory Number C0511
Size 10.25"H x 7.5"W
Material Earthenware
Period Art Nouveau
Country of Origin France
Year Made C1900
Status SOLD
Condition Perfect
In this vase Delphin Massier successfully united Art Nouveau forms with an Islamic-influenced glaze, classical overtones, and a Symbolist subtext. Sculptural irises rise fluidly from a rootlike base and are about to bloom at the rim. Meanwhile etched and painted flowers, reinflorcing the Art Nouveau interest in stylized nature, appear beneath the luster glaze (inspired at a great remove by Islamic lusters). The recumbent maiden emerging gradually into full relief alludes to classical mythology (possibly representing Iris, the goddess of the rainbow) while covertly representing the tumult of sexual awakening. Eroticism was a powerful and well-recognized theme of the fin de siècle, in art, decorative arts, literature, and the theater.
Marks: Painted Delphin Massier Vallauris (AM)
