tin-glazed earthenware
10¹⁄₂ x 12³⁄₈ x 4¹⁄₂ in. (26.5 x 31.5 x 11.5 cm)
molded mark Émile Gallé a Nancy Modéle et decor déposés with the Croix de Lorraine

Acquired by the present owner, circa 1980

P. Garner, Émile Gallé, New York, 1979, pp. 66-67

The present model portrays Gallé's fascination with the natural world, taking form in a fantastical procession of anthropomorphic insects. A pale praying mantis is carried in a palanquin by four crickets while a beetle carrying a bill leads the group riding atop a cricket. A darker mantis decorates the foreground and the reverse portrays an elegant lily blossom. The design is reminiscent of illustrations by Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard (1803-1847), a French caricaturist and illustrator who published his works under the pseudonym Grandville.

Christie's would like to thank François Le Tacon for his assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.