For collectors, Daum is a name in the first rank of the French makers of art glass, along with those of Émile Gallé and René Lalique. Led in its early decades by the brothers Auguste (1853–1909) and Antonin Daum (1864–1931), the company, based in the city of Nancy, established its reputation in the Art Nouveau period, and later successfully adopted the Art Deco style.
In 1878, lawyer Jean Daum took over the ownership of a glassworks as payment for a debt and installed his sons as proprietors. Initially, Daum made glass for everyday purposes such as windows, watches and tableware, but the success that Gallé enjoyed at the 1889 Universal Exposition in Paris — the international showcase for which the Eiffel Tower was built — inspired the Daum brothers to begin making art-glass pieces. They produced popular works of cameo glass, a decorative technique in which an outer layer of glass is acid-etched or carved off to reveal the layer below, but Daum became best known for vessels and sculptures in pâte de verre — a painstaking method in which finely ground colored glass is mixed with a binder, placed in a mold and then fired in a kiln.
Though early Daum glass was never signed by individual artists, the firm employed some of the masters of the naturalistic, asymmetrical Art Nouveau style, including Jacques Grüber, Henri Bergé and Amalric Walter (whose first name is frequently misspelled). Daum also collaborated with furniture and metalware designer Louis Majorelle, who created wrought-iron and brass mounts for vases and table lamps. In the 1960s, Daum commissioned fine artists, most notably Salvador Dalí and sculptor César Baldaccini, to design glass pieces. As you see from the works offered on 1stDibs, Daum has been home to an astonishingly rich roster of creative spirits and is today a state-owned enterprise making pâte de verre figurines.
$2,938
H 3.23 in Dm 2.56 in
Art Nouveau Cameo Vase, Bleuets, Cornflowers, Daum Nancy, France, Circa 1910
By Daum
Located in Vienna, AT
Small baluster vase, with a bulbous body resting on a flush base, featuring a flared, funnel-shaped neck; colourless glass with milky-white and flaky reddish flecks, and cornflower-b...
Glass
$2,221
H 7.37 in W 4.34 in D 3.15 in
Antique Art Nouveau Daum Nancy Cameo Glass Vase, France Circa 1910
By Daum
Located in Bochum, NRW
Antique Art Nouveau Daum Nancy Cameo Glass Vase, France circa 1910. Multilayered glass cameo vase with exquisite detailed decor of flowers and leaves etched in purple glass against a...
Glass
Daum Nancy French Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Vase
By Daum
Located in New York, NY
A French Art Nouveau wheel-carved cameo glass vase by Daum, featuring a decoration of blue flowers and light blue and grey stems and leaves on an opa...
Art Glass
Antique French Faience Pitcher by Keller & Guérin, 1895, Hand-Painted
Located in Coral Gables, FL
A beautiful antique French faience pitcher by Keller & Guérin, Lunéville, hand-painted with richly detailed purple and lavender blossoms against a soft shaded celadon-green and i...
Ceramic
$5,406
H 5.63 in Dm 1.97 in
Very Rare Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Vase with Flower Decor France 1895/1900
By Daum
Located in Vienna, AT
Very rare and exceptional piece of Art Nouveau glass: Small baluster-shaped vase on a separate stand, forming a small bulge, slender, slowly bulging towards the top and tapering tow...
Glass
Art Nouveau Cameo Vase, Julienne Des Dames, Daum Nancy, France, Circa 1910
By Daum
Located in Vienna, AT
Funnel-shaped vase with a three-sided body resting on a round base set apart by a node; colourless glass with flaky white and pink powder inclusions in the upper section and ochre-br...
Glass
$3,173
H 3.35 in Dm 2.56 in
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Vase, Poire Sauvage, Wild Pear Decor, France, 1910
By Daum
Located in Vienna, AT
Small baluster vase, flush round stand, bulbous body with attached funnel-shaped neck, colorless glass with color powder enamels in yellow-orange and red, with highly etched and pain...
Glass
$14,103
H 10.01 in Dm 4.34 in
Daum Frères Art Nouveau Etched and Enamel Glass Pitcher, Mistletoe Design 25.4cm
By Daum
Located in Bochum, NRW
An exceptional Art Nouveau glass pitcher by Daum Frères, Nancy, dating to the late 19th century. Dimensions: Height: 25.4 cm (10 in) This large, sculptural form features Daum’s sig...
Glass
Daum Enamel and Cameo Glass Spring Botanical Vase -French c1900
By Daum
Located in Worcester Park, GB
A stunning Daum Spring flowers small vase -Polychrome enamelled and cameo cut back depicting a selection of spring flowers and foliage on a brown and yello...
Art Glass
$2,703
H 3.19 in Dm 2.45 in
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Vase with Bleeding Heart Decor France 1895/1900
By Daum
Located in Vienna, AT
Very rare and exceptional piece of Art Nouveau glass: Small baluster vase, bulbous body with attached, funnel-shaped neck. Colorless glass with colored powder inclusions in white, o...
Glass
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Vase, Jacinthes, France, Circa 1900
By Daum
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Daum Nancy, Art Nouveau Cameo Glass "Jacinthes" Vase, France, circa 1900 A finely executed Daum Nancy cameo glass vase, signed with the Cross of Lorraine, dating to the Art Nouveau ...
Art Glass
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Vase "Chardons", circa 1900
By Daum
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Vase with Thistle Decor, Miniature Quadrangular Form, circa 1900 An elegant miniature quadrangular vase by Daum Nancy, created circa 1900 at the h...
Art Glass
Daum Nancy, Art Nouveau. « Myosotis » Scent Bottle, circa 1900
By Daum
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
A French Etched Gilt and Enameled Cameo Glass Scent Bottle and Stopper Daum Nancy « Myosotis » Scent Bottle –, Opalescent, Gilt, Etched andEnameled Glass, circa 1900 A delicate Daum ...
Art Glass
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Vase "Fleurs des Champs", circa 1900
By Daum
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Daum Nancy Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Vase "Fleurs des Champs", circa 1900 Delicate Art Nouveau cameo glass vase of elegant quadrangular form with softly rounded corners. Finely acid-e...
Art Glass
Émile Gallé (1846-1904) Enameled Grand Genre Glass Vase circa 1895
By Émile Gallé
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Émile Gallé (1846-1904) Grand Genre Glass Vase circa 1895 An early Art Nouveau hand etched granita glass vase, circa 1895, decorated with enameled flowers and leaves. Attached handl...
Art Glass
Daum Nancy France Croix de Lorraine, Art Deco Glass Vase with Inclusions, c.1925
By Daum
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Daum Nancy France Croix de Lorraine Art Deco Glass Vase with Inclusions, circa 1925 A striking French art glass vase by Daum Nancy France Executed in vibrant orange glass with drama...
Art Glass
