Amalric Walter and Henri Bergé pâte-de-verre 'Trois Capricornes du Chêne' Covered Box
Regular price
$17,500
This exquisite Trois Capricornes du Chêne covered box was designed by Amalric Walter and Henri Bergé for La Marquise de Sévigné, the celebrated French luxury chocolatier founded in 1898. Created as part of the firm's prestigious holiday chocolate presentations, the box showcases Walter’s mastery of the pâte-de-verre technique and Bergé’s distinctive naturalistic design sensibility. Delicate black locust tree foliage and stylized capricorn beetles emerge in softly modeled relief against a rich amber-yellow ground. Walter and Bergé developed a close artistic partnership while working at Daum between 1905 and 1915, continuing their collaboration after Walter established his own studio in 1918. The box exemplifies their shared Art Nouveau aesthetic, which drew inspiration from the natural world and transformed it into refined decorative art. Combining sculptural elegance with technical virtuosity, Trois Capricornes du Chêne stands as a remarkable example of early twentieth-century French pâte-de-verre and the luxurious presentation pieces commissioned by La Marquise de Sévigné.
Item #: YP-22150
Artist: Amalric Walter and Henri Bergé
Country: France
Circa: 1920
Dimensions: 5" height, 7.25" diameter.
Materials: Pâte de verre Glass
Signed: marked A WALTER NANCY, Bergé Sc, and à La Marquise de Sévigné
Literature: J. Bloch-Dermant, Le Verre en France d’Émile Gallé a nos jours, Osny, 1986, p. 265
A. Duncan, Art Deco Complete, London, 2011, pp. 330-331 (for a related example)
Item #: YP-22150
Artist: Amalric Walter and Henri Bergé
Country: France
Circa: 1920
Dimensions: 5" height, 7.25" diameter.
Materials: Pâte de verre Glass
Signed: marked A WALTER NANCY, Bergé Sc, and à La Marquise de Sévigné
Literature: J. Bloch-Dermant, Le Verre en France d’Émile Gallé a nos jours, Osny, 1986, p. 265
A. Duncan, Art Deco Complete, London, 2011, pp. 330-331 (for a related example)
The black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) depicted on this box carries a uniquely French historical significance. Introduced to France in 1601 by Jean Robin, gardener to King Henry IV, the tree was widely planted throughout Paris and became one of the city's most familiar ornamental species. Remarkably, the oldest tree in Paris—a black locust planted by Robin himself in the Jardin des Plantes—still survives today. By choosing black locust foliage rather than a more generic botanical motif, Bergé rooted the design in a species closely associated with French horticultural history and national identity.
The black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) depicted on this box carries a uniquely French historical significance. Introduced to France in 1601 by Jean Robin, gardener to King Henry IV, the tree was widely planted throughout Paris and became one of the city's most familiar ornamental species. Remarkably, the oldest tree in Paris—a black locust planted by Robin himself in the Jardin des Plantes—still survives today. By choosing black locust foliage rather than a more generic botanical motif, Bergé rooted the design in a species closely associated with French horticultural history and national identity.
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