Daum. Crystal coup with vine-branch decor.

Daum Frères glassware : a centennial family business !

 

After starting out as shaky and uncertain due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Daum Frères glassware, located in Nancy, the capital of glass masters, finally acquired a great national reputation then internationally with its participation in the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Then success came rapidly, thanks to the Universal Expositions in Lyon, Bordeaux, Brussels, etc. Finally, the Daum glassware received the first prize for glass at the Paris Exposition in 1900.  Commissions became more numerous and the Daum family managed to innovate and propose new forms.
Daum glassware is one of the few companies to have retained its family character for over a century.

The importance of art and family
Jean Daum founded the dynasty of Daum glass by purchasing in 1878 the Sainte Catherine glassworks which faced serious financial problems. Since then and until the 1990s, the company was always managed by a Daum family member.


Auguste Daum (1853-1909), son of the founder of Daum Frères glassworks

Jean began collaborating with his son Auguste in 1878. With his father’s death, Auguste lead only manufacturing, but two years later he was joined by his brother Antonin.  Together, they managed to develop the artistic production of glassware, including notably benefiting from a collaboration with the glass artist Jacques Grüber. They founded in 1901 with the help of Louis Majorelle and Emile Gallé, the School of Nancy, promoter of Art Nouveau.
When Auguste died in 1909, his sons Jean, Paul and Henri succeeded him, although Antonin was still very present in the family business. Jean died in 1916 and Paul and Henri continued to lead the Daum glassworks, gradually replacing Antonin who died in 1930. They directed the production in a style more Art Deco, in accordance with the tastes of the time.

The hardships with the economic crisis of the 1930s
A second Daum glass production opened in 1925, always in Lorraine, under  the leadership of Paul. But it did not survive the crisis of the 1930s and closed in 1934.
The main Daum business was successful since the beginning of the twentieth century. It managed to emerge unscathed from the economic crisis due to a considerable commission. The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique chose them  to make thousands of parts intended for the famous ocean liner Normandie.

Prestigious commissions with exceptional collaborations
After WWII it was Auguste’s grandson, Jacques, who took the lead.  Nevertheless Henri retained an important place in the company. Jacques Daum gave new life to the family business by making collaborations with contemporary artists and creators.  Arman, Benjamin

Vautier (Ben), César, the Lalanne’s, and Paloma Picasso were all artists who realized pieces with Daum glass in the second half of the 20th century. Expertissim has already proposed two pieces from the collaboration with Salvador Dali, the famous Surrealist artist.


Dalí, Le désir hyperrationnel, 1984                                 
Dalí, Débris d'une automobile donnant naissance à un cheval aveugle mordant un téléphone

 

The last family member to succeed Jacques Daum was Pierre de Chérisey, grandson of Antonin. He maintained the family tradition of the company from 1976-1990.
Today, this glass company from Nancy still exists. Many of its pieces are displayed in several museums: the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Museum of Fine Arts in Nancy, etc...

  
Daum, Silver circular bonbonnière with lid 

Daum, Large glass baluster vase
proposed by Expertissim

Expertissim regularly offers the sale of Daum coupes, vases and glasses, as well as items designed for Daum by contemporary artists.

 

Clémence ENRIQUEZ (étudiante à l'Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
 

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Reference: 2010120272

Items 1

Period: Circa 1980

Valuation:
$573-$637

DAUM.

Coupe.
Proof realized in crystal and pâte de cristal of orange shaded glass. Vine-branch decor in high relief.
With its box of origin.

Signed.

Circa 1980.

Height: 28 cm (11 in.).