78 - Hector GUIMARD (1867–1942) & MANUFACTURE NATIONALE DE SEVRES

Hector GUIMARD (1867–1942) & MANUFACTURE NATIONALE DE SEVRES Vase known as the “de Cerny,” a model created circa 1899, made of stoneware with a truncated conical body and a neck adorned with swirling volutes and ribs in semi-relief, flanked by four small, detached side handles on a slightly flared, bulging base. The decoration is entirely glazed in shades of turquoise with iridescent crystallizations on a cream-yellow background. Monogrammed in low relief within the decoration; marked with the manufactory’s rectangular stamp and a triangular stamp dated 1904 on the reverse. Height: 27.5 cm Viewable by appointment through November 10 at the Marcilhac Appraisal Office 5 rue de Nesle 75006 PARIS T: +33 6 71 81 38 35 / +33 1 42 49 74 46 History: In the late 1890s, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, under the leadership of Alexandre Sandier, its new “director of artistic works,” undertook to renew its designs to maintain its position at the forefront of the aesthetic innovations of its time. In preparation for the 1900 World’s Fair, the Manufacture commissioned Hector Guimard—whose recent success with the Castel Béranger had established his innovative style—to design original pieces. The Cerny vase is one of three works created by the artist as part of this collaboration. Produced in a small series—only about fifteen examples are known today—and available in several decorative variations, it attracted particular interest and was regularly featured in exhibitions, both by Hector Guimard and by the Sèvres Manufactory. Pieces similar to our example, featuring variations in decoration, are held at the National Ceramics Museum in Sèvres (inv. nos. MNC16112 and MNC15813), at the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges (inv. no. ADL7759), at the Bröhan-Museum in Berlin (inv. no. 93-916), at the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 2024.450.10), and at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (inv. no. 1948-114-2) in New York, as well as at the Saint Louis Art Museum in St. Louis (inv. no. 15:2006). Bibliography: Frantz Jourdain, “Les Meubles Modernes,” *La Revue d’Art*, No. 1, November 4, 1899, p. 7, featuring a reproduction of a prototype of the Cerny vase model, likely prior to its production by the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. *La Décoration Moderne*, 1907, 13th year, likely our model listed under no. 3 and reproduced on plate 60 in the “Ceramics 12” section. Henri Poupée, “Actualité de Guimard,” *La Construction moderne*, July–August 1970, a variation of our model reproduced on p. 47. Maurice Rheims, *L’Objet 1900*, Arts et Métiers graphiques, Paris, 1964, a model similar to a decorative variation reproduced on plate 84. Felipe Ferré, Maurice Rheims & Georges Vigne, *Hector Guimard architecte*, Bibliothèque des arts, Paris, 1988, variations of our model reproduced on pp. 190–191. Various Authors, *Guimard*, catalog of the eponymous exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris from April 13 to July 26, 1992, and at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs et des Tissus from September 25, 1992, to January 3, 1993, Published by the Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris, 1992; models similar to the decorative variations listed under nos. 3 and 4 and reproduced on p. 263. Various Authors, Sèvres Vases: 18th–21st Centuries—In Praise of Virtuosity, Editions Faton, Dijon, 2014; model similar to a decorative variant reproduced on pp. 216 and 220. Paul Arthur, *French Art Nouveau Ceramics: An Illustrated Dictionary*, Norma Editions, Paris, 2015, a model similar to a decorative variant reproduced on p. 198. Paul Arthur & Robert Zehil, *The Magic of Sèvres 1900*, Robert Zehil Gallery, Monte Carlo, 2020; a similar model with a variation in decoration is reproduced on p. 13 and on the catalog cover. Frédéric Descouturelle & Olivier Pons, La céramique et la lave émaillée d’Hector Guimard, Editions du Cercle Guimard, Paris, 2022, models similar to the decorative variations reproduced on pp. 87, 92–93, 97, 99, and 100–101. Expert: Amélie MARCILHAC