Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2015.

Neo-Grec Vase

Manufacturer Compagnie des Verreries et Cristalleries de Baccarat (French, founded 1764)

CultureFrench

Dateca. 1867

MediumBlown and acid-etched glass with gilding

Dimensions17 1/2 × 9 × 8 3/4 in. (44.5 × 22.9 × 22.2 cm)
Overall, Rim: 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm)

MarkingsNone

Credit LineMuseum purchase with Funds donated by Mr. and Mrs. John S. Shannon

Object number91.48

Collections

Glass Art

On View

On view

DescriptionThe rare, acid-etched blue and white Neo-Grec style glass vase is exactly like one shown by Baccarat in the 1867 World's fair. One one side is a representation of Bacchus riding in a chariot drawn by two tigers, and on the other a Bacchante riding in a wagon drawn by four goats. Both of these transfer-printed images appear with other figures in a Bacchanalian procession on an elaborate punch bowl now at the Corning Museum of Glass that was also shown at the Fair.

Label TextNeo-Grec Vase Cristalleries de Baccarat, France, ca. 1867 Blown cased glass, acid-etched and gilded Museum Purchase with funds donated by Mr. and Mrs. John S. Shannon 91.48 The color scheme of this handsome French Second Empire glass vase suggests blue and white porcelain, yet its shape and much of its ornament ultimately derive from ancient Greek pottery. The profile is that of an amphora except that there are no handles. In their place, gracefully arranged palmettes and scrolls, like those that often surround the handles of ancient Greek pottery, appear on the vase's side and shoulders. The decorative borders are also combined in much the same way that the Greeks used them, though the figures are rather more Roman in feeling. On one side is a representation of Bacchus riding in a chariot drawn by two tigers, and on the other a Bacchante rides a wagon drawn by four goats. This vase is interesting from a technical point of view, being an early example of acid-etching used in connection with transfer-printed resists to create an engraved effect - a process developed by L. Kessler. In decorating this vase, the etcher began with a white opaline glass blank that was completely cased in a thin layer of blue glass. Metal plates deeply engraved with the design elements were "inked" with an acid-resistant medium consisting of bitumen and stearic acid thinned with turpentine. Prints were then pulled from the plates on paper lightly moistened with soapy water to prevent the ink from permanently adhering to the paper. By using two successive baths of hydrofluoric acid and applying a new stopping ground in between them, a half layer of blue glass was removed to achieve the shaded effects that had previously been the province of master engravers. Later glassmakers such a Gallé, Daum and Steuben would eventually make extensive use of acid-etching. Edited By: GLYExhibition History"Treasures for the Community: The Chrysler Collects, 1989-1996," October 25, 1996 - February 16, 1997 Published ReferencesENGLISH AND CONTINENTAL GLASS AND PAPERWEIGHTS (London: Christie's, 4 June 1991), cover ill., No. 186. Gary E. Baker, "The Glass Collection: A Baccarat Acid-Etched Vase of The Second Empire", The Chrysler Museum BULLETIN, Vol. 22, No. 3 (May/June 1992), b/w cover ill.; pp 5-6,. b/w ills. p. 5. "Recent Important Acquisitions", THE JOURNAL OF GLASS STUDIES 35 (1993): No. 11, 123. Diane C. Wright (editor), _Glass Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum of Art_, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017), p. 98-99.