Vase de Bougival Subelle, An Applied Porcelain Vase

Executed by Henri-Joseph Lasserre
Decorated by Manufacture National de Sèvres, 1900

With a white overglaze and small quadrilobed flowers applied at regular intervals, with a slightly raised ring which separates the body from the foot, decorated with orange flowers and light green stylised foliage, signed at the base HLasserre.1900, with the firm's mark on the base and numbered S.99

19 ¼ in (49 cm) high, 4 in (10.2 cm) wide

Literature
E. Baumgart, La Manufacture nationale de Sèvres à l'Exposition universelle de 1900
Alastair Duncan, The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Volume IV: Ceramics and Glass, 1998, p.384

At the turn of the century, Sèvres was a foremost centre for design reform. Founded by a group of potters in 1740 and re-established in larger quarters in the village of Sèvres in 1756, it had become one of the leading porcelain manufacturers in Europe by 1800. From 1891, the manufactory produced a version of Art Nouveau that, while stylised, was extremely progressive. During and after the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, Sèvres was highlighted for its advanced artistic achievement, and art magazines such as Art et Décoration revealed the importance of its Art Nouveau designs and their young creators. One of these designers was Henri-Joseph Lasserre – a young ceramicist at the beginning of his career, unfettered by traditional styles. Sèvres was becoming a centre of new artistic production: to some it appeared that the manufactory had entered a 'second youth', an idea that meshed perfectly with the theories of Art Nouveau, which stressed rebirth in the visual arts.

This form, Bougival, was part of a series named after notable French cities. Bougival is a suburb of Paris and in the late 19th century, it was considered the birthplace of Impressionism. This model was exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

A similar vase de Bougival is held in the collections of the Sèvres – Cité de la céramique.