An exhibition in the Belgian capital shows the artistic style was first to seek to appeal to a wider group of consumers

The glazed porcelain vases with bold colours and geometric shapes of the 1920s and 30s are immediately recognisable to many people, says the art historian Cécile Dubois. Often given as a wedding present, these vases were usually passed down as family heirlooms, revealing the accessibility of art deco works, she says, gesturing to the glass cabinet beside her. “If you were a collector, you could find works that cost a fortune, but these pieces were destined for people of more modest means for very reasonable prices.”

Art deco was the first artistic movement that sought to appeal to a wider public beyond the elites, say the organisers of a new exhibition dedicated to the artistic movement of the interwar years, co-curated by Dubois, the president of the Brussels Art Deco Society.