Vintage Art Nouveau Leaf Vide-Poche with Insects in ReliefAttributed 1909, Gilt Metal Dish with Curled Stem, 13 cm

When Japanese prints and objects reached Paris in the late nineteenth century, they changed how French artists saw nature. Japanese art gave as much attention to a cricket on a leaf as to a mountain landscape, and Parisian designers took up the idea with enthusiasm. Beetles, flies and dragonflies began to appear in jewellery, glass and small metal objects, set on leaves and flowers as if they had just landed there.

This little vide-poche, or pocket-emptying dish, is shaped as a single broad leaf. Its edges curl gently upward, its surface is ribbed with veins and dotted with tiny pits, and the stem curls back at one end to form a small handle. Across the leaf crawls a large segmented insect with jointed legs and a long, ridged body, modelled in high relief. Near the tip, a small fly has settled. The gilt finish is bright on the raised areas and catches the light along every vein and curl.

The dish is in very good condition. It is small enough to hold in one hand and makes a charming resting place for rings on a dressing table, keys on a hall console or paper clips on a desk. For anyone who loves the natural world, it is worth picking up and examining closely.

In short, this is a vintage Art Nouveau leaf vide-poche in gilt metal, with insects in relief and a curled stem, attributed to 1909. It is 13 cm long and exactly as pictured.

DETAILS

Size: Length 13 cm (5.1 in); width 8 cm (3.1 in). About the size of a playing card.
Material: Gilt metal
Style-Period: Art Nouveau; vintage, attributed to 1909
Shipping: Professionally packed, fully insured, worldwide. We handle the paperwork, with all import duties paid by us; nothing to settle on delivery.
Condition: Very good.

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