Elsie Ward Hering

ELSIE WARD HERING (United States,1872 - 1923).
Jug, ca. 1900.
Silver-plated pewter.
Signed on one side.
Ettlinger Frères stampon the reverse.
Weight: 800 g.
Bibliography: Philippe DAHHAN, Étains 1900, 200 Sculpteurs de la Belle Époque, Les Éditions de l'Amateur, Paris, 2000, reproduced p. 188, fig. 539.
Measurements: 21.5 x 13 x 10 cm.

Art Nouveau vase made of silver-plated pewter. It features bulbous forms rising in a long tubular neck. It is decorated in relief with a nude young woman modestly covering herself with a veil. The organic design is completed with a leafy branch forming the side handle,

Elsie Ward was an American sculptor specializing in portraits, busts and reliefs, working primarily in bronze and other metals. After graduating from high school in 1889, she studied art in Denver with several masters, becoming actively involved in local art life. She later moved to New York, where she joined the Art Students League and was a student of prominent figures such as Augustus St. Gaudens and Daniel Chester French. Around 1898, Ward traveled to Paris, a fruitful period in which she created the sculpture Boy and Frog, a work that would later be awarded a medal at the St. Louis World's Fair.

Ettlinger Frères was an early 20th century foundry specialized in the production of pewter objects, especially in the Art Nouveau style. This foundry is associated with works by François Madurell and Joseph Berthier.