Georges Despret Plaque, 1903

Plate E. DELOS for GEORGES DESPRET (Belgium, 1862-1952).
"Young woman", 1903.
Paste glass.
Signed "E. Delos" and dated.
Measurements: 31 x 25 x 3 cm.

Oval plate entirely made of glass paste depicting a young girl with blond curly hair. It reminds of the Roman portraits because the protagonist appears carved in rigorous profile, following the ancient way of representation. The "Pâte de verre" is the result of a glass created by a technique in which the ground glass is converted into paste and modeled as a glass or a figure, and then trace the design by carving. Glass created by this method was known in ancient times and revived in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

George Despret was trained as a master glassmaker from childhood by his uncle, Hector Despret, master forger and glassmaker, who saw him as his successor in the management of the glassworks he had founded. His good workmanship and knowledge of the market led him to catapult his company to fame, collaborating with numerous artists. His great technical creativity led him to register a large number of patents that were crucial for the future of the glass industry. Parallel to this brilliant career, he set out to find the secret of the ancient Roman glass paste, following in the footsteps, albeit independently, of the Parisian Henry Cros. He exhibited his work at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900. The Kiyosato Kitazawa Art Museum in Japan also has doors and several exceptional pieces made by George Despret, which corroborate the diversity of the production of the Belgian glassmaker.