Style Napoleon III / Ref.03142

CARRIER BELLEUSE Louis Robert, Extraordinary vase with Urania , science allegory.

Large ovoid stoneware vase on its tripod base with decoration in high relief made of glazed stoneware.

This vase has a wide collar on which unfolds a farandole of lovers having fun with the Moon in a heavenly backdrop of stars and clouds, as an allegory of the day and night.
During the night, one of the lovers escapes from the mouth of the personified Moon, while another clings strongly to it. The opposite side, another comforts the Moon who cannot shine during the day.

The body of the vase also has a continuous backdrop of flowers and foliage narrating two main stages from Mythology: Urania admiring the stars and the awakening of Aurora.
In a setting of ancient remains of balustrades and ionic columns, the muse Urania studies the sky using her telescope and strongly holds her globe with love, while one of her disciples, an Ouranie, takes notes on her speech.
The Aurora is voluptuously lying on a bed of flowers and foliage of fields in high-relief, her face still asleep.

The entire decor is on a blue background subtly shaded according to whether the scenes take place during the night or day, or when necessary to highlight a character. The harmony of this vase is not only thematic, but also chromatic. Thus, the pedestal with blue ogee curves echoes the night.
This vase is presented on a majestic tripod stand with very original decor of upside-down lions, with delicately created coats ranging from beige to dark brown, reflecting the great mastery of their glazes and firings.
Lions also rest on a tripod base with finely coiled caryatids endings, the sides decorated with opened shells.

This vase is a reflection of the creativity of Carrier-Belleuse, subtly harmonizing his neo-rococo and neoclassical inspirations.
It focuses on the description of the complicated rendering of the atmosphere of heaven, floating edges of drapery, hair which frames faces. To acknowledge the reality of the details, he cut the clay still wet, after completing the general form.
In the tradition of his father, he pursued his theory that was based on the idea of ??applying the human figure to the decorative arts, especially the female figure. His ability to make realistic characteristics on his models gave him great fame.


Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913) was the son of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, of whom he was a student. At the school of fine arts he took lessons taught by Gustave Boulanger and Alexandre Cabanel.
In 1877, he acquired from Theodore Deck his first experiences with ceramic.
At the 1881 exhibition, he won the prize for best painter, then for the best sculptor in the 1889 exhibition.
He designed some models for the Choisy-le-Roi pottery and was its artistic director.
Among his works: The National Monument of Costa Rica, A Little Curious at the Museum of Rochefort, The Little Chimney Sweeps, Bearers of flour at the Petit Palais Museum (1885). His works are also kept at the Dahesh Museum, New York; Museum of Art and Archaeology, Moulins, France and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.