After the death of its founder Emile Gallé in 1914, the Établissements Gallé in Nancy continued to produce glass and ceramics under the direction of the chief designer Auguste Herbst.
The multi-layered etched vase, known as Le Lac de Côme le soir, has a special place in the oeuvre of the company. It is the only named Italian landscape ever portrayed by the firm and indeed one of very few non-French subjects that is identifiable. On one side is a view of Lake Como and the shore with a peacock in the foreground; on the other the ruin of a castle with the setting sun.
It is generally thought that the design dates to 1919 at the earliest and it was kept in production to the mid-1930s. There were five different sizes, ranging from 8in (20cm) to 20in (52cm), four of which were of ovoid form, the largest shaped like an amphora. The colour scheme also varies, as do numerous details of the landscape.
The vase in Munich is 14in (36cm) high and is expected to bring €14,000-16,000.
