Emile Galle - Bouchon du flacon "Angélique", verrerie glass

Émile Gallé, (1846—1904), celebrated French designer and pioneer in technical innovations in glass. He was a leading initiator of the Art Nouveau style and of the modern renaissance of French art glass. The son of a successful faience and furniture producer, Gallé studied philosophy, botany, and drawing, later learning glassmaking at Meisenthal, France. After the Franco-German War (1870–71), he went to work in his father’s factory at Nancy. He first made clear glass, lightly tinted and decorated with enamel and engraving, but he soon developed the use of deeply coloured, almost opaque glasses in heavy masses, often layered in several thicknesses and carved or etched to form plant motifs. His glass was a great success at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, and he became known as a spirited designer working in contemporary revival styles.