Verrerie de Sèvres Art Nouveau glass claret jug with Viennese silver ‘Blackberry’ mounts by Brüder Franks, c. 1895
$3,600.00 AUD
Rare French claret jug, the glass by Verrerie de Sèvres, with textured acid-edged ground reserved with strands of blackberry plants, with flowers & fruit picked out in raised gold work & enamels, the handle, spout & hinged lid with stunning naturalistic blackberry plants over a textured ground, a clump of plump fruit as the knob, the interior with gilt wash. Gold mark to base ‘V /R’ either side of a ship in sail, for Verrerie de Sèvres, circa 1895 The silver hallmarked with ‘Head of Diana’ for Austro-Hungary, .800 standard, with ‘A’ for Vienna, ‘BF’ for ‘Brüder Franks’ (The Frank Brothers) to leaf of knob fitting, also maker’s mark of a winged hammer for Frank Rudolf (one of the Frank Brothers). 24cm high Condition: excellent, with minor signs of age, glass is excellent, gilt has gentle wear, silver only lightly cleaned (shows the details and keeps it looking ‘organic’ with a darker background) – displays superbly.
The firm of Brüder Franks was founded in Vienna 1887 by the brothers Eduard, Anton and Rudolf Frank. They made very high quality luxury goods in gold & silver, sometimes using imported materials such as porcelain – and in this case glass from Sevres. An example found on a web forum requesting identification is the same structure, but completely in silver with the blackberry canes continuing down the body. Verrerie de Sèvres was a glassworks located at Sèvres, not far from the Royal porcelain manufactory. It is not a part of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory.While the Verrerie de Sèvres was founded during the reign of Louis XV, and located at the place named Sèvres, it was not part of the Royal manufactory, but an independent concern small size, making useful wares for the local market. This changed in 1870 with a new owner, Landier, who began the manufacture of lead crystal glass, and changed the name to ‘Christallerie de Sèvres’. In 1875 he took over an established glassworks in Clichy, enabling him to introduce new techniques of manufacture and engraving. The name was then added to : ‘Christalleries de Sèvres etClichy Réunis’. As the 1890’s began, they were engaged in the multitude of artistic glass styles, and some naturalistic forms were made. This was the beginning of the Art Nouveau movement, and they developed a splendid range of Nouveau taste designs using acid to etch the background of the vessels to give them a natural texture, reserving designs – such as the leaves on this piece – which were then further embellished. Some were mounted there in silver-plate; this example is rare, having solid-silver mounts. The mark of ‘V / R’ ranking a sailing ship was used on these quality products from the 1890’s. The V and S are the initials of the firm; the ship is similar to the one found on the arms of the city of Paris, indicating its proximity to the ‘centre of culture’.
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