Gabriel Argy-Rousseau "La Danse'" Pâte-de-Verre Vase

Argy-Rousseau’s La Danse vase, crafted in pâte de verre, depicts three sequential poses of Michael Fokine in the role of Amoun, the male lead of Cléopâtre. The ballet premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on June 2, 1909, and the poses on the vase were adapted from promotional photographs taken during a 1913 performance at the Royal Swedish Opera. Amoun, a young Egyptian, abandons his lover Ta-Hor after falling for Cleopatra; ensnared by desire, he accepts her fatal bargain—to spend one night with her in exchange for his life—and dies the next morning, his tragic fate propelling the ballet’s drama. In the first pose, Amoun raises a composite bow above his head, balancing on point with one knee lifted. In the second, he extends one arm overhead while lifting his leg in a poised balance. In the third, he sinks into a lunge, his arms curved in a dramatic S-shape. The elaborate costumes heightened the spectacle, with Amoun dressed in a wig of tight curls and a boldly colored ensemble of paneled silk, painted wooden medallions, and carnelian beads; the seemingly bare areas of the dancers’ bodies were in fact covered by “fleshings,” flesh-toned silk or jersey inserts painted to resemble skin. By immortalizing these choreographic moments in glass, Argy-Rousseau translated the fleeting art of dance into a permanent sculptural form, preserving both its theatrical intensity and its exotic spectacle.