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Fives-Lille Copper & Ceramic Vase Gustave De Bruyn

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:400.00 USD Estimated At:1,400.00 - 1,600.00 USD
Fives-Lille Copper & Ceramic Vase Gustave De Bruyn
Featured in this lot are two French Art Nouveau Fives-Lille copper & ceramic moth / papillons vase done by Antione Gustave De Bruyn (1838-1916) circa 1890-1900. Antione Gustave De Bruyn, a fourth generation potter from Belgium, left his hometown in 1864 and moved to Fives-Lille, a community in the northern part of France to make his fortune in the French pottery trade. His first project was to construct his own factory to make whistles and clay pipes. Terracotta and stoneware for everyday use were soon added to the company's offerings. In 1887, the company's catalog included both art pottery and the recently popular majolica. A testament to its success was the company's silver medal from the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris. In no time, the business was producing art pottery, sanitary wares, and majolica and employing over 300 local people. The business's prosperity was only short-lived due to the outbreak of World War I and a disastrous fire in 1917, but the company had resumed production by the mid-1920s. Up until the early 1930s, when the factory was forced to close due to political and economic unrest in Europe, it prospered from selling Art Deco pottery and ceramic clocks. After being closed for the entirety of World War II, the pottery reopened. After being sold in 1950, it was put back into limited production until 1962, when the business was shut down. The two vases are identical and show a professionally crafted ceramic and copper overlay construction with two handles protruding from the sides. The vases are intricatly designed and show images of moths around the middle band near the handles. The bottoms are marked "4610" showing the cast or mold it was made from as well as "DB" (De Bruyn) and an anchor. They both show good condition overall with some slight wear from their age and use over the years but no signs of obvious damage are noted. They measure 8 1/8" L x 3 5/8" W with a bottom circumference of 11 3/4".