This is the fourth volume in Alastair Duncan's monumental survey of works exhibited in the Paris Salons at the turn of the century. Research for this book revealed that the independent French porter around 1900 adhered to the strong Arts and Crafts tradition by which workshop, tools, trade secrets, and skills were handed down from father to son. For these craftsmen each piece was a unique work of art, the glaze and its random effects were paramount.
In the field of glass relatively few craftsmen were drawn to the modernist movement at the turn of the century, yet their achievements today dwarf those of their ceramic counterparts. In very large part this is due to the monolithic impact of Emile Galle whose technical and artistic genius astounds today's connoisseurs even more perhaps than their original audience. Under his stewardship glass was transformed into a medium of simulated movement and infinitely blended colors, with complex internal patterns and surface textures derived from the most comprehensive compendium of techniques in the history of the medium.
