Art Nouveau Legras vase, ca. 1900

LEGRAS & CIE Art Nouveau vase. France, ca. 1900.
Blown glass and acid etched, fine gold details.
Measurements: 27 x 12 x 12 cm. the largest.

Vase of the firm Legras, in blown glass, with the slender acid-etched body with vegetal decoration. Two lion masks worked in relief and located at the height of the handles are decorated in fine gold, matching the neck chiseled with foliate motifs.

François-Théodore Legras entered the glass factory near his native village as a clerk. This is where he learned his trade. At the age of 24 he left his native Vosges to go to work at the glass factory in La Plaine Saint-Denis , a suburb of the town of Saint Denis near Paris, where he was hired as a clerk. Six months later, he became head of production and in 1866, with 27 years, became director of the glass factory. He then built a new modern factory and a workers' estate which, over the years, became an industrial complex of almost 20,000 square meters. He became managing director of Legras et Cie, then of Verrerie et Cristallerie de Saint-Denis. He participated in numerous national and international exhibitions where he was often awarded prizes. He was also responsible for the glass and crystal part of the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris. In 1909, he handed over the management of his business to his nephew Charles Legras . From 1914, production changed style and was inspired by Art Deco, with a return to simple lines and a certain sobriety. The Legras production will be effective until 1928.