Two-Coloured Black and White Glass Dish with Swirls, circa 1970

This blown glass catchall strikingly combines two absolute shades: a deep, luminous jet black with an almost lacquered shine, and an opaque white that curls into two spiralled volutes rising on either side of the rim. The shape—a small, rounded, low, and stable bowl—is both simple and easy to hold, but it is the graphic interplay between the two colours that constitutes the true subject of the piece. The two white glass volutes, spiralled and slightly asymmetrical as dictated by the hand of the blower, testify to a mastery of cane work and hot shaping. This type of inlay and ornamental shaping, characteristic of French art glass workshops from the 1960s-1970s, produces effects of genuine visual complexity—both pictorial and sculptural. The black and white contrast in the decorative arts of the 1960s-1970s is a strong aesthetic constant that permeates furniture, fashion, ceramics, and glassware of the period. This catchall embodies this graphic signature with sobriety: without superfluous colour, without excessive ornamentation, it derives its authority solely from the relationship between two opposing materials. In excellent condition, the glass is intact, with no chips or cracks. An object that discreetly and prominently rests on a desk, a chest of drawers, or a bedside table—both useful and beautiful.