Louis Damon pair of "Vase of Triton" & "Vase of Saint George Slaying the Dragon," Cameo Glass Vases
Regular price
$16,000
This exquisite pair of vases by Louis Damon depicts the mythological figures of Triton and Saint George slaying the dragon in two layers of purple and sky blue cameo glass. The Vase of Triton depicts Triton, the son of the Greek god Poseidon, blowing a large conch shell to herald the birth of Venus, with the foreground populated by a rococo rendition of a dolphin. The other vase depicts the legend of St. George and the Dragon, after a composition by Raphael. As told in the 12th-century Golden Legend, St. George encountered a kingdom in Northern Africa terrorized by a dragon demanding daily human sacrifices. He wounded the beast, saved the princess destined for sacrifice, and led both back to the town of Silene. There, he vowed to kill the dragon and free the kingdom if its people converted to Christianity—a proposal they eagerly accepted. Believed to represent the ancient capital of Libya, the tale was seen as an allegory for the arrival of Christianity in the region.
Item #: YG-21860
Artist: Louis Damon
Country: France
Circa: 1900
Dimensions: 5.75" height, 4" width, 3" depth.
Materials: Cameo Glass
Signed: L Damon 20 Bd Malesherbes Paris" and "Damon Paris"
Item #: YG-21860
Artist: Louis Damon
Country: France
Circa: 1900
Dimensions: 5.75" height, 4" width, 3" depth.
Materials: Cameo Glass
Signed: L Damon 20 Bd Malesherbes Paris" and "Damon Paris"
Damon was an artist and an entrepreneur who, in 1900, had a glass gallery in Paris, "Au Vase Etrusque," located at 20 Boulevard Malesherbes, where he sold creations by Gallé, Daum, and other nascent Art Nouveau artists and designers. A talented designer himself, Damon created small-scale works with marvelously intricate and highly romantic narratives in subdued, ethereal hues. Damon himself did not have a hot glass factory and would set glass in two layers of purple over sky blue for which he would hire glass carvers from Nancy to follow his drawings to make a cameo glass artwork. While at first glance depicting unrelated scenes from very disparate ancient lore, there is a historically pertinent link between the imagery of two vases, a link that speaks to the cultural preoccupations of Damon's day.
Damon was an artist and an entrepreneur who, in 1900, had a glass gallery in Paris, "Au Vase Etrusque," located at 20 Boulevard Malesherbes, where he sold creations by Gallé, Daum, and other nascent Art Nouveau artists and designers. A talented designer himself, Damon created small-scale works with marvelously intricate and highly romantic narratives in subdued, ethereal hues. Damon himself did not have a hot glass factory and would set glass in two layers of purple over sky blue for which he would hire glass carvers from Nancy to follow his drawings to make a cameo glass artwork. While at first glance depicting unrelated scenes from very disparate ancient lore, there is a historically pertinent link between the imagery of two vases, a link that speaks to the cultural preoccupations of Damon's day.
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