A French Charder (Charles Schneider) Art Deco dish in cameo with 'eglantines' design, first half 20th C.

Dia.: 35 cm

An acid etched cameo glass design in purple overlay over a pâte-de-verre frosted ground. Signed Charder in cameo for Charles Schneider.

Charles Schneider (1881-1952) was born in Chateau-Thierry, near Paris but at an early age, the family moved to Nancy – a major centre of the Art Nouveau movement in France. Both Charles and his brother Ernest (1877-1937) worked for Daum – Ernest in administration and Charles as a glass engraver, whilst also studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1913, together with Henri Wolf, they founded the 'Schneider Frères & Wolf' glass factory in Épinay-sur-Seine – starting with a group of workers they had persuaded to leave Daum. After closure during WWI the factory re-opened in 1917 as the 'Société Anonyme des Verreries Schneider'. By 1920, the factory was working at full capacity making mainly art glass. In 1921 the company introduced new trademarks – using Schneider, Le Verre Français and Charder (a contraction of Charles Schneider). Le Verre Français and Charder, made solely using the technique of acid etching, was primarily sold through the exclusive Parisian department stores such as Galeries Lafayette, Le Printemps and Le Bon Marche. Pieces signed Schneider tended to be sold by specialist galleries such as Delvaux, Rouard, La Vase Etrusque and Le Grand Depot. The same design was often being produced under the three trademarks. Following the 1925 Paris International Exhibition, new designs were created in the Art Deco style. Schneider’s geometric designs inspired from nature proved popular both in France and abroad – and the factory expanded to employ around 500 workers. However, after the Wall Street crash demand dwindled to a few pieces a day – produced mainly for the home market.