A Porcelain ‘Cobra’ Vase
Designed by Édouard Marcel-Sandoz, Executed by Porcelain de Paris, circa 1920
Inscribed Ed. M. Sandoz, and stamped with the artist’s monogram and the manufacturer’s mark
15 ½ in (39.5 cm) high
Literature
Félix Marcilhac, Sandoz: Sculpteur Figuriste et Animalier, 1881-1971, 1993, p. 161, 458 and 543
Édouard-Marcel Sandoz was born in Basil, Switzerland on 21st March 1881. After studying chemistry, Sandoz decided to turn to sculpture. He studied for three years at the L’École de Industriele Arts in Geneva then moved to Paris where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts. He apprenticed under the sculptor Antonin Mercié and the painter Ferdinand Cormon.
During the First World War, due to the shortage of stone and bronze, Sandoz turned to porcelain for his sculptures and thus began his thirty year association with the Haviland Limoge company. This collaboration produced many distinctive highly stylised objects in the form of animals in porcelain with bright coloured glazes. All of his sculptures are characterised by a geometric form which is strongly influenced by both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. His vase of this coiled snake form is one that shows his skill as a sculptor and ability to create stylised forms with a life-like quality.
From 1921 Sandoz modelled animals for the Porcelaine de Paris company, which exhibited his ‘Poisson-Chat’ vase and ‘Chat-Debout’ figures at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, held in Paris in 1925. He was elected a member of L’Académie des Beaux Arts and made a Commander in L’Order de Legion d’Honneur. Sandoz’s sculptures show a unique and lively personal style and place him firmly at the top of the 20th century Animaliers along with Francois Pompon and Rembrandt Bugatti.
