Vase
This gourd-shaped vase is a masterful example of traditional metalworking. Dunand excelled at the craft of dinanderie—a term derived from Dinant, a town near Liège, Belgium, where hand-worked metalwares had been produced since the Middle Ages. The process consists of raising a form from a thin, flat sheet of metal (usually copper) by hammering over shaped molds in a spiral pattern starting at the center of the sheet. Occasional reheating of the object is necessary to prevent the metal from becoming too brittle and fracturing during the process.
A sulphuric acid bath and rapid beating of the surface with a flat-headed mallet eliminates visible hammer marks from a finished piece. In this case, the copper body was embellished with inlaid silver decoration.
A sulphuric acid bath and rapid beating of the surface with a flat-headed mallet eliminates visible hammer marks from a finished piece. In this case, the copper body was embellished with inlaid silver decoration.
Artwork Details
- Title: Vase
- Designer: Jean Dunand (French (born Switzerland), Lancy 1877–1942 Paris)
- Date: ca. 1920
- Medium: Copper, inlaid silver
- Dimensions: 7 7/8 × 3 1/8 in., 0.5 lb. (20 × 7.9 cm, 0.2 kg)
- Classification: Metalwork-Copper
- Credit Line: Purchase, Edward C. Moore Jr. Gift, 1923
- Object Number: 23.39.2
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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