Centerpiece (c. 1880): Art, History and Details

Centerpiece (c. 1880) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Eugène Rousseau (French, 1827–1891); Appert Frères (French); Escalier de Cristal (French).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The retail firm of Escalier de Cristal seems not to have directly manufactured the wares they sold, but they exercised design control and sometimes brought together craftspeople of various talents and training to execute their stylish goods. Eugène Rousseau was not himself a craftsman, but he acted as a sort of editor, and glass and ceramics were made under his supervision. The glass of this bowl, with its cast relief decoration and colored inclusions, is of a kind associated with Rousseau. It is known that much of his glass was actually made by the firm of Appert Frères. In terms of style, this Centerpiece reflects the interest in things Japanese, which was an important element in the luxury goods made around 1880. The swimming fish and the naturalistic details of the gilt metal pinecones and twigs tied with string suggest this Asian source of inspiration.

Object facts

• Title: Centerpiece
• Date: c. 1880
• Creator attribution: Eugène Rousseau (French, 1827–1891); Appert Frères (French); Escalier de Cristal (French)
• Culture: France, Paris
• Type: Glass
• Technique: glass with gilt metal mounts
• Dimensions: Overall: 13.3 x 48 x 28.2 cm (5 1/4 x 18 7/8 x 11 1/8 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 2001.36

Collection credit

Bequest of John L. Severance (by exchange)

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.