Frogs and Lily Pads (Grenouilles et Nénuphars) Vase (1909–12): Art, History and Details

Frogs and Lily Pads (Grenouilles et Nénuphars) Vase (1909–12) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is René Lalique (French, 1860–1945).

The work and its context

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

This vase is an early example of French designer René Lalique's experimentation with producing artistic glass. Lalique combines applied, cast, and molded glass techniques to achieve an ethereal effect of a murky swamp, a typical Art Nouveau motif. Lily pads adorn the surface with green frogs perched on top.

Object facts

• Title: Frogs and Lily Pads (Grenouilles et Nénuphars) Vase
• Date: 1909–12
• Creator attribution: René Lalique (French, 1860–1945)
• Culture: France, 20th century
• Type: Glass
• Technique: glass
• Dimensions: Overall: 21 x 29.8 cm (8 1/4 x 11 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 2007.180

A detail from the museum

René Lalique placed little sheets of metal foil behind the applied green frogs to reflect a dark green tint back to the viewer.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Laurvik, J. Nilsen. René Lalique. New York: Haviland & Co., 1912.
• Dawes, Nicholas M. Lalique Glass. New York: Crown, 1986.
• René Lalique et cie, and Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc. Important Lalique Glass: The Frey Collection. New York: Christie's, 1988.

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.