ATELIER DE GLATIGNY.

Lot 131
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Estimation :
400 - 600 EUR
Result without fees
Result : 2 500EUR
ATELIER DE GLATIGNY.
Stoneware vase decorated with beige, green and brown iridescence. Silver mounting (925), decorated with three falls of fuchsias. The base circled with silver, signed "L. GAILLARD". Under the base, a number "506". H. : 18 cm. Master and goldsmith : Lucien Gaillard (1861-1842). The workshop of Glatigny applied itself during its brief existence, from 1897 to 1902, to produce ceramics of high quality at accessible prices which came to be registered as masterpieces of the French Art Nouveau. Its founder, Alfred Le Chatelier (1855-1929), became familiar with ceramics at an early age while growing up in the heart of the sixth arrondissement of Paris, surrounded by the art studios of the greatest ceramists of the time, such as Théodore Deck. He began a military career in 1873, at the age of 19, and was sent to Africa in the French colonies. He spent several years there, divided between Algeria and the Congo, studying Islam and writing several books until he left the army in 1893. Driven by commercial and political interests, he founded the same year the Société d'études et d'exploitations du Congo français with which he developed the unfinished project of a railway to link the land to the coast. Back in Paris and after marrying a woman passionate about the arts, he created in 1897 the Atelier de Glatigny, in Chesnay near Versailles. The ceramists there choose to remain anonymous and their productions, in stoneware, porcelain or glass, will allow Alfred Le Chatelier to be recognized as one of the "best French ceramists of the Art Nouveau". These are the words of Henri Cazalis, known as "Jean Lahor", French poet and critic. The factory will indeed distinguish itself by creating first of all stoneware ceramics in sang-de-boeuf color, spotted enamels or flamed stoneware, then by producing with Parisian or Viennese goldsmiths ceramics and porcelain enhanced with metal frames, featuring various geometric or floral patterns. Our vase is a perfect example of this collaboration and its precious frame bears the signature of the master silversmith Lucien Gaillard (1863-1942). Despite the short existence of the workshop, its productions will nevertheless be the subject of several exhibitions. In 1898 for example, the Salon du Figaro organized at 26, rue Drouot will present several ceramics of Glatigny, followed closely by the Salon de la Libre Esthétique in Brussels. It is at this time that the vases of Glatigny will be registered in the art market. Collected by the gallery owner Siegfried Bing, they were highly coveted and in 1898 became part of the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. This will push Alfred Le Chatelier to open in Paris in 1899 his gallery, to present to his new public the productions of the workshop. He called on the painter and poster artist Maurice Biais to design the façade. The following year, the pieces will also be presented by the Société moderne des Beaux-arts, alongside great artists and ceramists of the time. Finally, it is thanks to the World Fair of this year 1900, that the productions of the workshop will enter the collections of European museums such as the Kunst Undustri Museet in Copenhagen, the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg and the Museum of Applied Arts in Budapest. Two years later, in 1902, for economic reasons but also following his appointment to the chair of Muslim sociology at the Collège de France, Alfred Le Chatelier closed the Ateliers de Glatigny. He will hold this position until 1925 and will continue his writing work on Islam and Africa. Lucien Gaillard (1863-1942) : Coming from a family of goldsmiths, Lucien Gaillard was deeply marked and stimulated by the work of René Lalique. His style is strongly marked by Japanese style.
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