Bowl

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Bowl

Artist François-Emile Décorchemont (French, 1880-1971)

Date1921-1922

DimensionsH: 6 7/8 in.

MediumGlass, cast in lost wax (cire perdue) technique

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Hugh J. Smith, Jr.

Object number

1949.1

On View

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion (2444 Monroe Street), Glass Pavilion Gallery, 3

DescriptionMottled green glass. Relief decoration of Medusa-like masks with snakes joining handles on each side.

Label TextFrançois Décorchemont, who was one of the first glass artists of the 20th century to design and fabricate work in his own studio rather than in a factory, played a leading role during the early 1900s in the advancement of the pâte-de-verre, or “glass paste,” technique. To make his early pâte-de-verre wares, Décorchemont mixed finely ground glass crystals with a binding agent (water, for example) to obtain a paste, to which he added metallic oxides for color. The paste was then shaped in a mold and fired in a kiln. Inspired by ancient masks, for this bowl Décorchemont depicted in relief on each side of the bowl the head of Medusa flanked by two undulating snakes (in classical mythology Medusa, a beautiful maiden, was transformed into a hideous winged monster with snakes for hair and a stare that turned people to stone).