Large Art Nouveau Blue Opalescent Glass Charger with Waterlilies c.1910

Large attractive French Art Nouveau blue opalescent glass charger c1910. Footed shallow dish with central waterlily flower surrounded by a design of open waterlily flowers, buds and leaves. Moulded underside which is frosted with polished highlights. Polished to inside bowl. Lovely blue-opalescence to the glass emphasising the Art Nouveau design. The charger is 33.5 cm in diameter and 6 cm in height. The production of glassware in France goes back to the 16th century with the founding of the St. Louis glass company. By the 19th century cut crystal dominated and other renown French producers such as Baccarat had also began producing high quality cut crystal. With new artist movements during the 19th and 20th centuries, the popularity of cut crystal waned. French glassmakers such as Galle, Lalique, Daum, and Schneider amongst many others, developed new techniques aligned to the new styles and tastes in the decorative arts. France became the centre of the Art Nouveau movement in glass at the turn of the 19th century and twenty years later, led the world with the Art Deco movement. With the wider popularity of the Art Nouveau style, glassmakers needed to employ more inexpensive methods to produce items that would be affordable to the expanding middle-classes. The technique of pressing glass into moulds had been known since the 1820s but it was in Europe in the mid to late 19th century (particularly France, Bohemia, and Sweden) where the technique was developed and utilised to produce decorative household items.