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Object Timeline

1908	Work on this object began.
1948	We acquired this object.
1970	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
1991	We exhibited this object.
2013	This was an Object of the Day.
2015	We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2018	We exhibited this object.
2022	We exhibited this object.
2024	You found it!

Vase de Cerny, from the Hôtel Guimard, Paris, France Vase

This is a vase. It was designed by Hector Guimard and manufactured by Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory. It is dated 1908 and we acquired it in 1948. Its medium is stoneware. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

At the turn of the twentieth century during the art nouveau period, major European ceramic firms took advantage of iridescent glazes to maximize their expressions of an organic style. At the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory in France, Guimard’s use of a new glaze that included crystal particles brought great dimension to his vase that depicts the growth of a floral form from its roots to its blooms.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A Vase Designed by a Distinguished, But Forgotten Man.

This object was donated by Madame Hector Guimard. It is credited Gift of Mme. Hector Guimard.

A black cast-iron balcony railing with two symmetrical, ornamental panels. Two sinuous, curving bars of iron drop down from the center top of each panel and curve into a looping, oblong design towards the bottom, joined by two additional curving bars that snake towards the center bottom from each side of each panel.

Balcony Balustrade, Model GI Railing
cast iron.
Museum purchase from the Members' Acquisitions Fund of Cooper-Hewitt,....
2011-28-1

A sculptural picture frame manifests the quinessential design of Art Nouveau in its structure. At the top of the vertical metal frame sits a small mound or bead where flowing graceful lines meet. The lines of metal clasp above the mound then flow into waves that flutter and tiny mounds abound on the upper sides of the frame. Their path continues down to the halfway point of the sides encountering a cluster of wavy curling forms and tiny beads. Both sides morph into delicate elongated ovoids with negative inner space. They meet at the u-shaped bottom decorated with symmetrical wavy carvings in the base where a triangular form rests in the center. The bottom has positive space unlike the sides. As our eye returns to the top we see another line is attached under the mound to form amorphic openings with the sides. The inner area for the photograph possesses an unusual shape that follows the outer form of the frame and resembles the top of a human tongue. Elegant silk velvet is applied to the space between all sides and the photo and glass.

Photo Frame, from the Hôtel Guimard, Paris, France Photo Frame
bronze, gold, plate glass; modern photo reproduction.
Gift of Mme. Hector Guimard.
1948-114-4-a,b

Vase, from the Hôtel Guimard, Paris, France Vase

Vase, from the Hôtel Guimard, Paris, France Vase
bronze, gold.
Gift of Mme. Hector Guimard.
1956-76-2

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 27 x 13.4 x 13.4cm (10 5/8 x 5 1/4 x 5 1/4in.)

It has the following markings

Impressed in rounded rectangle on glazed base: "Sèvres"; incised: "HG" (monogram)

Cite this object as

Vase de Cerny, from the Hôtel Guimard, Paris, France Vase; Designed by Hector Guimard ((French, 1867–1942)); Manufactured by Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (France); France; stoneware; H x W x D: 27 x 13.4 x 13.4cm (10 5/8 x 5 1/4 x 5 1/4in.); Gift of Mme. Hector Guimard; 1948-114-2

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Hector Guimard, Iridescence and The Cooper-Hewitt Collections: A Design Resource.

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2Dnor/
Accession Number 1948-114-2
Object ID 18607585