“LES BLANCS SOLEILS D’AUTOMNE” OR “CHANT D’AUTOMNE” IMPORTANT VASE, CIRCA 1900
Glass marquetry in shades of green and pale pink against an opalescent white ground
Decorated with swamp magnolia blossoms, acid-etched and finely wheel-carved
Height: 34.5 cm.
Exhibition
Smaller-size model, exhibited at the 1892 Salon. The smaller version of this model is preserved in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay under identification no. 33270 and inventory no. PHO 1986 71 157
Bibliography
Louis de Fourcaud, Émile Gallé, in the series Les Artistes de tous les temps, published by Librairie d’Art Ancien et Moderne, Paris, 1903; the smaller version of the model is illustrated on page 27 and titled Les Blancs Soleils d’Automne
Revue des Arts Décoratifs, seventeenth year, 1 January 1897; the smaller version of the model is illustrated on page 342 and is also titled Chant d’Automne
Provenance
The vase was commissioned from Émile Gallé by Félix Crousse (1840–1925) and subsequently remained in the family by descent.
Born on 2 October 1840 in the Boudonville district of Nancy, François Félix Crousse was the son of Louis Crousse, a gardener, and his wife Françoise Morel. He attended the Imperial Lycée of Nancy from 1850 to 1855 before undertaking a horticultural apprenticeship that lasted approximately ten years, notably with Auguste Calot in Douai.
He quickly distinguished himself through his work on the ivy-leaved geranium, which he successfully improved, as well as on various other flowering plants, including chrysanthemums, cyclamens, and herbaceous peonies, for which he developed nearly eighty new cultivars. Crousse achieved international renown as one of the foremost specialists in tuberous begonias.
Closely associated with several artists of the École de Nancy—among them Jacques Gruber, Ernest Bussière, and above all Émile Gallé—he paid tribute to Gallé by giving his name to several of his floral creations, particularly peonies and begonias.
In 1877, together with Victor Lemoine, Émile Gallé, and Léon Simon, he founded the Central Horticultural Society of Nancy (Société Centrale d’Horticulture de Nancy), whose development he actively supported. He encouraged the creation of a society bulletin, which he edited for a time before entrusting its management to Gallé, and later served as vice-president of the organization.
Félix Crousse gained particular recognition at the great international exhibitions. He was awarded a Gold Medal at the 1878 Paris Exposition for his peonies and a Silver Medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition for his begonias.
This is typical provenance text in an auction catalogue: it establishes a direct historical connection between the original commissioner, the celebrated horticulturist Félix Crousse, and Émile Gallé, while emphasizing the vase’s uninterrupted descent within the family.
