Art Deco Rare Gilt Etched Engraved Geometric Glass Vase by Jean Luce

Jean Luce exceptionally rare and important Art Deco gilt, sandblasted, and etched glass vase, France, circa 1925. The vase presents a flattened ovoid body rising to a subtly bulging, hemmed neck, formed in thick glass tinted black throughout. Its surface is lavishly enameled in gold and further articulated with sandblasted etched reserves, creating bold geometric Art Deco motifs of spirals and crescent forms.

The refined interplay between matte etched surfaces and luminous gilding amplifies the vase’s powerful sculptural presence while exemplifying the sophisticated modernist aesthetic for which Jean Luce is celebrated. The dynamic geometric decoration is repeated on the reverse, reinforcing the object’s visual balance and compositional harmony. A masterful and highly representative example of Luce’s most sought-after glasswork from the height of the Art Deco period.

Signed with the artist’s monogram stamp on the underside.

This model is documented as the cover piece of the prestigious Christie’s Château de Gourdon sale, March 31, 2011, where an example realized €25,000, underscoring its exceptional rarity, desirability, and importance within Jean Luce’s glass oeuvre.

Trained as a ceramicist and glassmaker at his father’s studio, Jean Luce (French, 1895-1964) exhibited his own designs for the first time in 1911, at the age of seventeen. Broadly architectural in form, the treatments that Luce applied to the surfaces of his vessels incorporated a fusion of influences that included Cubism, Primitivism, and geometric machine-like abstraction. Well-respected among the avant-garde, Luce counted Jean Puiforcat, Charlotte Perriand, and Rene Herbst amongst his collaborators, and in 1935 was commissioned to create the tableware for the ‘Normandy’ ocean liner, becoming a member of UAM.