Tall French Art Nouveau Cameo Glass Art Vase by Cheval c.1910

Gorgeous, tall French Art Nouveau cameo glass art vase by Cheval c1910. Elongated conical body with cylindrical neck and everted rim. Finely worked flowing design of trailing leaves and flowers. Acid etched cameo design in differing depths of amethyst over a frosted pate-de-verre ground of pale amethyst and clear glass. Beautifully creates the effect of looking at the sky through trailing branches. Raised cameo signature Cheval with the Cross of Lorraine to the body and etched signature to base over a ground pontil mark. The Cross of Lorraine was used by artisans working in and around Nancy which became famous for its art glass and crystal during the Art Nouveau period. Amongst Nancy's most reknown names in glassmaking were Daum and Galle. Cameo glass is a luxury form of art glass produced by cameo etching and carving through fused layers of differently coloured glass to produce designs. In the French Art Nouveau designs all of the top layer except the areas needed for the design were removed by an acid etching process. Areas were covered with a resist layer such as wax and the glass was repeatedly dipped in acid. Detailed work was then done with wheels and drills before finishing.