In order to present the new Republic, a World’s Fair is held in Paris in 1878. Hot air balloons fly visitors of the exhibition, and the immense Statue of Liberty being still uncomplete, its head is exposed next to the Palais of the Exhibition. As two years earlier in Philadelphia, one can get in and climb to the top.
French art bronzes, ceramics and cabinetmaking are widely promoted, Barbedienne, Sèvres and Fourdinois remaining the tenors of their fields. Emile Gallé participates for the first time at the World’s Fair, with a beautiful Japanese-inspired vase, La Carpe.
It is also during this event that the Wallace Fountains, iconic fountains of Paris, are generalized. Among the other important vestiges, some pavilions still adorn the environs of Paris, like the pavilion of India in Courbevoie.
