AUGUSTE JEAN (1829-1896) - Vase - Rare soufflé vase with Japonisant enameled decoration featuring aquatic chimeras emerging from a - Mouth-blown glass

Circa 1880. Cristallerie de Clichy. France

Sublime and spectacular rare vase in cobalt blue blown glass, with japonisant decoration of Lotus and Water Lily, attributed to the renowned glassmaker AUGUSTE JEAN (1829-1896), one of the most singular and bold personalities of French artistic glassmaking in the second half of the 19th century.

Of absolutely remarkable presence, this important piece measuring 25.5 cm in height with a very handsome volume and a circumference of 53 cm, weighing nearly 2 kg, this magnificent rare specimen virtuously combines blown glass, hot-modelled applications, polychrome enameling in light relief, and precious gilded highlights in a lush composition where extreme-Oriental inspiration meets extraordinary creative freedom, already heralding Art Nouveau.

The piece features a generous piriform belly, powerfully swollen, rising to a long neck whose hot-worked opening unfolds into a spectacular deeply undulating and multilingued corolla.

But the very originality of this extraordinary creation also lies in the three imposing, mythic aquatic creatures in blue glass applied and hot-modeled, which seem to literally entwine the vase, to which responds a marvelous Japonaisian lakeside landscape, entirely hand-enamaled in delicate polychrome nuances and precious gilded highlights, where the three fabulous mythical creatures appear to rise from the water in the middle of a charming lotus-and-water-lily pond.

Their long sinuous bodies, fully covered with wide scales delicately modeled in relief, seem to undulate along the belly before gracefully descending to the base, where their fascinating heads of mythical aquatic creatures appear, forming an astonishing tripod foot, giving the whole its magnificent resting stance.

Some precious gilding highlights, still preserved on their scales and reliefs, catch the light gently and accentuate the mysterious and wondrous character of this extraordinary composition.

On the intense transparency of cobalt blue glass, with color nuances changing with the light, unfolds a sumptuous lotus decoration, delicately enameled in light relief in rich polychrome shades.

Majestic leaves, delicately veined, unfold in subtle nuances of pale green, aquamarine, light blue and opalescent white, accompanied by graceful flower buds borne on long stems and small water lilies delicately outlined in gold. Light gilded lines traverse the belly, evoking the peaceful ripples of the water.

The decor gradually reveals itself as one turns the piece, conjuring a fascinating lakeside landscape as poetic as it is panoramic. Through the glass’s transparency, the enameled aquatic plants intermingle and seem to float weightlessly in the cobalt blue’s mysterious depths.

Thus, a fascinating dialogue is created between the glass’s sculptural heft, blown and modeled, and the almost pictorial delicacy of the polychrome enameling, giving the impression that these mysterious fish-like creatures truly emerge from the waters at the heart of a wonderful lotus pond.

This extraordinary fusion of blowing, hot-modeling, polychrome enameling and gilding fully belongs to the vocabulary of the boldest creations of Auguste Jean.

Works exhibiting these same technical and japonisant explorations are today preserved in the collections of the prestigious Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

More than a simple vase, this piece appears as a true glass sculpture almost alive, animated by these mysterious mythical creatures that seem to undulate and rise from the waters at the heart of a wonderful lotus and water-lily pond.

Under the base there appears a charming trace of the pontil from the glassblower’s cane, cut with tongs, a moving testimony to the old manufacturing techniques and to the remarkable artisanal know-how of the glassmakers of the Clichy and Saint-Denis glassworks where Auguste Jean blew his finest works at the end of the 19th century.

Auguste Jean (1829-1896) did not sign all of his works systematically. Moreover, when present, his signature was most often painted under the base, with red, brown or gold enamels. Applied on the surface and thus particularly exposed, it has frequently faded, worn away, or even disappeared over time, through handling, rubbing and successive cleanings over nearly 150 years.

It is therefore not unusual to encounter today some of his works without any visible signature, as is the case for this piece. This absence does not diminish the authenticity nor the attribution of this magnificent and very rare vase to Auguste Jean, whose form, fabrication techniques and extraordinary decorative vocabulary are characteristic of his finest creations.

The glassmaking production of Auguste Jean was particularly brief. After several experimental studies on glass in the 1870s, he founded in 1879 his company devoted to artistic glassmaking. This highly fruitful creative venture lasted only a few years: the bankruptcy of his company in 1883 marked the end of his Parisian glass production.

This short period of activity explains today the relative rarity of his most ambitious creations, highly sought after by collectors.

Thus, Auguste Jean enjoys a very favorable market value in 19th-century art glass, his most remarkable works regularly achieving excellent results at auction, some reaching several thousand euros. (See latest photos)

His style is fully within the rise of Japonisme that disrupted Western decorative arts at the end of the 19th century. His glass works are distinguished by bold and asymmetric forms, hot-modelled glass applications, polychrome enamel decorations and precious gilded highlights, making Auguste Jean one of the most singular precursors of the research that would lead a few years later to Art Nouveau.

A very beautiful collectible piece, “Museum-worthy,” from the late 19th century, at the dawn of Art Nouveau. Era of Daum Nancy, Gallé, Legras, Montjoye, Lalique…

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