MONT JOYE - VERRERIES DE SAINT DENIS ET DE PANTIN REUNIS – FRANCOIS THEODORE LEG

Exceptional pair of cornet vases with mistletoe, flower and twigg decoration designed by François Theodore Legras . His childhood spent in a tiny hamlet, in the heart of the Darney forest, one of the most beautiful forests in France, has marked him and will become a source of inspiration for his creations based on the fauna, the flora and especially on the forest and lake landscapes that punctuate the Ourche valley. At the age of 20, he started working as a clerk in glass factories near his native hamlet. At the age of 24, he left his native Vosges to work at the glassworks in La Plaine Saint-Denis, a district of the town of Saint Denis near Paris, where he was hired as a clerk. Six months later, he became head of production and in 1866, at the age of 27, he became director of the glassworks. He then had a new, modern factory and a workers' housing estate built, which over the years became an industrial complex of almost 20,000 square metres. He became chairman and managing director of Legras et Cie, then of the Verrerie et Cristallerie de Saint-Denis.He participated in numerous national and international exhibitions where he was often awarded prizes. He was also responsible for the glass and crystal section of the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris.In 1909, he handed over the management of his company to his nephew Charles Legras. From 1914 onwards, the production changed its style and was inspired by Art Deco, with a return to simple lines and a certain sobriety. Legras production continued until 1928. PRODUCT INFO: In geometric flower motif acid etched blown glass with three vertical curving twigss over the whole heigth of the vase and finisched in gold on top, drawn with tweezers, hot mounted base, intaglio mistletoe with fruit decoration in green and white enamel and intaglio very fine gold decoration of twiggs and berries. Mistletoe is an evergreen plant that lives on trees. It is a semi-parasite: it depends on its host for water and salts. Mistletoe is also called bird glue, gui (french) or maretak (dutch). The mistletoe is seen as a symbol of fertility and life. In Scandinavian fairy tales, the mistletoe represents love and friendship. For instance, the plant's white berries represent the tears of Frigg, the Norse goddess of love.