Daum Nancy is one of the most influential and refined glass houses in European art history. The brand was founded in Nancy in 1878 by Jean Daum, a former notary who saw the potential in the emerging glass art of the Alsace-Lorraine region. What began as a modest glassworks grew—under the leadership of his sons, Auguste and Antonin Daum—into the beating heart of French Art Nouveau.
In contrast to industrial mass production, Daum Nancy always opted for an almost poetic approach to glass. The brothers experimented obsessively with texture, color gradations, and the play of light through multiple layers of glass. They became famous for their multi-layered cameo glass, in which floral motifs, dragonflies, landscapes, and seasons seem to grow within the glass. Each piece is not an object, but a sculpture: organic, dreamlike, and deeply intertwined with nature.
Daum collaborated intensively with artists from the École de Nancy, including Émile Gallé, Henri Bergé, and Jacques Grüber. This cross-pollination between craft and art resulted in a revolutionary new kind of glass art: sensual, technically advanced, and incredibly delicate. Around 1900, Daum won international awards and became one of the most sought-after names in luxury and decorative arts.
To this day, Daum Nancy remains true to its origins: entirely handcrafted crystal, often using the same pate-de-verre technique rediscovered by the factory in the early 20th century. The brand is synonymous with French elegance, craftsmanship, and a rare continuity of artistic identity.
