Stylish sculpture Winter Itself in amber by Marie-Paule Deville Chabrolle

Amber itself, called winter, was born from the collaboration between French sculptor Marie-Paule Deville-Chabrolle and Maison Daum.

Daum is a brand of the highest quality craftsmanship combined with a passion for creating luxurious objects.

Discover the story

Daum, the legendary master glassmaker, who for over a century has maintained close relationships with the greatest artists of his time, giving their works a second life in crystal and color. From École de Nancy, Art Nouveau, to decorative arts, from Majorelle to Dalí, Arman, and Hilton McConnico, Daum has not missed any of the magical encounters between artistic creativity and modern knowledge, continuously renewing the union of art and exceptional craftsmanship.

Few brands have collaborated with so many artists: over nearly 140 years, more than 350 unique autographs have created an unparalleled legacy, a one-of-a-kind collection of this kind.

How can we translate these works into crystal sculptures? Here is Daum’s secret, a creator of extraordinary objects, a highly educated workshop, a laboratory of wonders, a designer of beautiful items.

Creation methods

The pâte de cristal technique is rare and very ancient. This technique dates back to 5000 BC (found in the tombs of pharaohs). Long forgotten, it was rediscovered by Daum in 1900 and further developed in 1968. The process is extremely delicate. Products obtained by combining pieces of crystal in a mold are characterized by graininess, materiality, and softness of contours, which cannot be achieved with blown glass.

Daum’s specialty, copied but never matched, the pâte de cristal, is a precious material that gives the object a sculptural dimension and continues to evolve. This crystal paste has the unique property of imparting transparency to the shapes it reproduces. The shine of this material, the intensity of colors, and subdued shades give it a distinctive character.

The pâte de cristal contains nearly 30% lead. The material is produced from specially prepared crystal in pots. Several factors influence the final color effect: weighing of materials, mixture proportions, chemical reactions of certain minerals and metals, temperature rise, and cooling of the furnaces.

Thanks to the Daum-developed lost-wax casting method and crystal casting, reproducing the original is perfect and aligns with the artist’s wishes. Currently, Daum is the only manufacturer in the world capable of creating this extraordinary material with such precision. Pâte de cristal is a substance that has been evolving for over a century, adapting to the whims of glassmaking masters’ imagination. It is through mastery and continuous research that world-famous masterpieces are born.