French Art Deco Muller Frères Signed Mottled Glass & Gilt Bronze Pendant Light Hanging Lamp

Description

A fine quality French Art Deco period mottled glass and gilt metal pendant light / hanging lamp by Muller Frères. … more A fine quality French Art Deco period mottled glass and gilt metal pendant light / hanging lamp by Muller Frères. circa 1920

Signed; marks to shade: "MULLER FRES LUNÉVILLE"

Provenance / Acquisition:
Property from a Private Southern California Collection

Acquired from the highly reputable auction house Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas. Fine & Decorative Arts Showcase Auction catalog #13215

Dimensions: (approx)
7-3/4 x 8-3/4 inches (shade)
Overall length with chain: 22 inches

About The Artist:
Muller Freres, French for Muller Brothers, were renowned French glass makers located in Lunéville, France. They made exceptional pieces from 1895 to 1933. Their factory was first located in Luneville, then in nearby Croismare, France.

The family-owned glassworks that is best known for its striking designs produced in the Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles. The French company’s chandeliers, vases, lamps and other glass pieces created in the latter style — which were largely characterized by elegantly crafted natural-world motifs and subtle, organic forms — are highly sought after and make for distinctive additions to any space.

Henri Muller opened the company with four of his brothers in Lunéville, during a time that saw the modernizing Art Nouveau movement in the decorative arts develop countrywide as well as in Britain. It quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States. Muller’s sister and an additional three brothers later joined the business.

The Muller family custom-ordered glass blanks from a glassworks near Nancy. The brothers learned about glass design while working with Émile Gallé, an innovative pioneer in glass artistry who would become a leading light of Art Nouveau. The style, which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. The earliest works by Muller Frères, which were often crafted in cameo glass, are strongly demonstrative of Gallé’s style and influence.

After a period that saw a pause in production owing to World War I, the company saw considerable success.

Muller Frères employed several hundred people at its commercial peak, when the Art Deco style of the 1920s, which was brought to international attention at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, was popularized by the likes of René Lalique, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jules Leleu. Authentic Muller Frères Art Deco sconces and pendants and hanging lamps featured sculptural wrought iron frames and saw an integration of high-polished nickel plating, bronze, frosted glass and silver leaf.

Condition Report:
Excellent antique/vintage condition.
Shade in overall excellent condition. Very minor expected use-related wear to frosted exterior, primarily around metal mounts. Presents superbly less