Verlys France Art Deco Frosted Glass Centerpiece Bowl, 1930s

Details

Description

This exquisite Art Deco centerpiece bowl, crafted by Verlys, France, features a stunning frosted pattern with a geometric, waved design. … Read more This exquisite Art Deco centerpiece bowl, crafted by Verlys, France, features a stunning frosted pattern with a geometric, waved design. The piece was crafted in France circa 1930. Produced by Les Verreries d'Art Verlys & des Hanots - S.A. Holophane, Paris, this large-scale glass bowl bears the molded signature of Verlys France on its side.
Measurements: 15.57 in wide (39.5 cm) by 10.25 in deep (26 cm) by 2.38 in high (6 cm).

Note: The Société Holophane Française was set up as a subsidiary of the Holophane Company, USA, in a glassworks near Rouen, northern France, in 1920, to make vehicle headlights. By 1925, they had expanded into making art glass vases and bowls and established a department for these products, which they named Verlys. Initially, they made blown vessels with several layers of glass, smooth on the outside, with intricate internal decoration. From 1933 onwards, they focused on high-quality press-molded glass. They produced clear, frosted, iridescent, and colored items with designs typical of Lalique-style glass of the 1930s, using plants, flowers, birds, fish, and abstract geometrical patterns. Each year, they produced a catalog with new designs. Typically, their products bear a molded signature that reads "Verlys France" or "Verlys Made in France." In 1935, they established "Verlys of America" with glassworks in Newark, Ohio. The Ohio Works produced certain items using molds from France. French and American factories produced these items, but not all French-exclusive designs were shared with the American factories. Production in France and the USA declined during the war as the company focused increasingly on industrial products. The Verlys range was progressively abandoned in both countries from 1940 until it ceased altogether, in the States in 1951-52 and France in the early 1960s. In 1955, some Verlys molds were leased to the Heisey Glassworks, which produced a limited range of Verlys designs until 1957, after which the molds were returned. These pieces were not signed. In 1966, Fenton Art Glass Company purchased the remaining Verlys molds. They created items in colors noticeably different from Verlys' and did not use the Verlys name. (Credit: GlassEncyclopedia website). See less