Ernst Chaplet French, 1835-1909
c. 1885
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Similar example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Poppies, golden-accented in analagous colors of blue and orange, creep up their leafy green stalks which sag from the heavy weight of the flowers. Like tired heavy-lidded eyes, the poppies symbolize hypnos’ sleep-inducing effects. Dammousse’s somnific symbolism evokes an other-worldly dream-like state and acts as a vehicle to tap into the imagination. Much more than a pretty face, or a pretty vase, this is a sublime piece of art, and Dammousse makes clear the influence of Braquemond and others by employing this Symbolist style. Beaudelaire’s credo that “Beauty must contain the absolute and the particular, the eternal and the transitory” aptly applies. Created while both Chaplet and Edouard Dammousse were employed by Haviland & Co. at its Paris location, this vase is a prime example of Chaplet’s early creative output of matte brown stoneware. Both artists demonstrate a strong link and affinity for japonisme in the vase’s traditional form and in the painterly approach Dammousse brings to the enamel glaze. His treatment of enhancing the floral decoration with gold detailing calls to mind Kintsugi aesthetic principles. Affixed to the vase’s underside is its original label indicating it was sold at the chic A la Paix, a Parisian gallery located on the prestigious Avenue de l’Opera which opened in 1891, specializing in glass and ceramic objects of art.