It was almost 190 years ago that Baccarat’s now-iconic Harcourt range of stemware came into being. Back then, the set was called ‘service de table de forme gondole a côtes plates larges’ (gondola-shaped table service with triple knop and wide, flat-cut sides). The clean chalice-like shape, deep flat cutting and sturdiness made a nod to the style of the decade (1835-1845), when décor was simplified to emphasize diversity of form. At that time, the line comprised 30 items: six sizes in glasses, decanters with different volume capacities, water jugs, cups, hors d’oeuvres dishes and fruit bowls. In the 20th century, in response to changing dining fashions, Baccarat added a Champagne cup, a Rhenish wine glass, a mug and goblet, a caviar service, salad bowl and wine cooler to the service. In 1920, the table service was given the Harcourt name, after one of Normandy’s most aristocratic families. Napoléon the III was the first French monarch to order the service, similar to the stemware used for the state banquets of his predecessor, King Louis-Philippe.
Today, the model is still in the French crystal maker’s catalogue, being produced with the same high standards and design as the day it began life. The beauty of the stemware is still derived from the outline, heft, transparency and bowl, reminiscent of a flower’s corolla on its stem, and of a chalice. Indeed the clean but magnificent design sees over 10,000 Harcourt glasses being sold each year, and the French President uses it for dinners given outside Elysée Palace.
In 1975, Baccarat marked the 150th anniversary of the technical development of the line with a limited edition of magnum decanters, followed by a series of outsize glasses called Hanaps. These were coloured pink in 1976, cobalt blue in 1977, emerald green in 1979, moss in 1981, amtheyst in 1982, and orange in 1983.
But Baccarat is not the only one rejigging the Harcourt; over the years, the line has constantly been reinterpreted by various designers (see box below). This year, as part of the brand’s 250th anniversary celebrations, Japanese design studio Nendo—which has collaborated in the past with design giants such as Cartier, Fritz Hansen and Armani—has entered the picture to create a gorgeous crystal chess set that takes its inspiration from the design icon with the distinctive stem shape.
Each hand-cut chessmen is a variation on the traditional Harcourt glass, with the rook most resembling the original. The other figures are modified versions of the original. The bowl of the king piece’s, for instance, has been carved to look like a crown, the bishop’s like a mitre, and the knight’s like a horse. The chessmen are rendered in either midnight-blue or clear crystal. As per the company, each set of chessmen has required over 200 hours of labour for cutting alone. The squares found on a traditional chessboard have been delineated here by panes of Plexiglas that allow light to shine through lend the board an ethereal, shimmering quality. Just like the signature ruby octagon adorning Baccarat’s chandeliers, a ruby square on the base of the board pays tribute to the brand colour.
This being a limited edition offering, only 50 pieces of the Harcourt Chessgame have been created. Each set costs $32,000.
Reinventing Harcourt
1956: ‘Empire’ was one of the early variations of the classic design and saw gold décor applied to each flat-cut side of the pieces
1982: The ‘Ems’ featured a gold line painted around the edge of the bowl and foot
2002: A selection of young designers gave ‘Harcourt’ a contemporary, creative spin.
Designers Tsé & Tsé, Vincent Dupont-Rougier, Arno Billault, Inga Sempé, Florence Deygas and Olivier Kuntzel gave their imagination free rein for the Harcourt Saga collection, with the upshot that the glass was transformed into a ‘powder box’, ‘vapourizer’, ‘candleholder’ and a detective story, with items aptly named ‘impact’, ‘clues’, and ‘investigations’
2005: French designer Philippe Starck transposed it into black crystal, designing the ‘un parfait’ presentation set and the ‘black angel’ mug
2011: Starck and his daughter Ara designed a game of draughts, with light and dark coloured ‘Harcourt’ champagne flutes being used as the game pieces