Ref.10972
MANUFACTURE JULES VIEILLARD & CIE - Glazed ceramic dish with a parrot partitioned decoration

Large circular dish in enameled polychrome ceramic with light relief decoration of a parrot perched on a branch of Japanese cherry blossom on aubergine color background. Cartridge with fake Japanese calligraphy in the decoration. At the back, mark of the "Jules Vieillard et Compagnie" factory with the three intertwined croissants that take up the coat of arms of the city of Bordeaux. This mark indicates a period of manufacture between 1868 and 1895, that is to say at the time when the two sons of Jules Vieillard, Charles and Albert, direct the manufacture. But more precisely, one can undoubtedly attribute the genesis of this type of Japanese design to the presence of Amédée de Caranza, visionary workshop manager with a particular taste for Orientalism and Japanism. It is thanks to his talent and knowledge that the Bordeaux factory shines from the World's Fair 1878 . A large dish of the same model is reproduced in the book "Jules Vieillard et Cie, Histoire de la faïence fine à Bordeaux. De l'anglomanie au rêve orientaliste." by Jacqueline du Pasquier, p. 108.

Ref.11594
Théodore DECK (ceramist) and Anthony Ludovic REGNIER (painter) - Ceramic dish glazed with tiger lily and butterfly on a blue background

This glazed ceramic dish was made in the workshop of the ceramist Théodore Deck (1823-1891) and painted by Anthony Ludovic Régnier (1851-1930) in 1881. It is signed in the decor "A. L. REGNIER" and dated in "1881". In the back, it wears the mark "TH. Deck" ; it is entitled "LIS TIGRE" and bears the number "160". Théodore Deck initially trained as a stove maker. When he set up in Paris on his own account in 1858, he made stove linings and then, on the strength of his success, moved into ceramics. The studio produced many dishes in collaboration with well-known painters, including Anthony Ludovic Régnier. Deck gradually perfected his technique and enjoyed great success at the many World’s Fairs he took part in. In 1878, he was made an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur. He ran the Sèvres factory between 1887 and his death in 1891. Anthony Ludovic Régnier was a prolific artist from the workshop of Théodore Deck, specialising in flower paintings. He is otherwise little known. The painter's mastery is evident in his particularly precise and detailed depiction of the tiger lily, whose flowers are in various stages of bloom. A bindweed flower curls around its stem, adding complexity to the pattern. A butterfly flutters around the lily, as does a small yellow and black striped insect. This work is a fine example of the Japonism that swept through European art from the 1870s until the early years of the 20th century, and which particularly influenced Théodore Deck, a collector of Far Eastern art. The Musée des Arts décoratifs, de la Faïence et de la Mode in Marseille has a dish with daturas and nasturtiums by Deck, decorated by Régnier. The different flowers give the decoration great variety.

Ref.13024
VILMOS ZSOLNAY (attributed to), Earthenware plate with a swan decoration, late 19th century

This round earthenware plate is attributed to Vilmos Zsolnay (1828-1900) because of its decoration and the trace of signature on the back. It was made in the late 19th century. The polychrome decoration of this plate depicts a swan in a countryside landscape. The white color of its feathers, and its spotted in black neck are detached from the background colored with hot shades. We can see, indeed, an ocher ground lit up with a small grass area and a gate in the background. The swan is plunging its beak in a pot where it is growing a tree of which the leaves and branches fit closely the upper part of the plate. The blue sky, tainted with green, is covered with small and stylized clouds. The Lower part of the plate also depicts two Art Nouveau scrolls friezes inhabited with plants and flowers, framing two small rabbits. The history of the Zsolnay manufactory starts in 1853, inPécs in Hungary on Miklos Zsolnay’s (1800-1880) initiative. During ten years, beautiful pieces were created, but Vilmos Zsolnay, the founder’s son, becomes manager and decides transform the familial business into an art manufactory with an international renown, by producing innovative pieces and participating to the big exhibitions that rhythm the second half of the 19th century. Indeed, he participated in the International Exhibition of Vienna in 1873, where his creativity was noticed, then the one in Paris, in 1878, where he won a Gold medal. Innovator, he creates in 1893, ceramic pieces covered with eosine – high quality varnish that gives to earthenware an iridescent metallic appearance – thanks to which he wins the Légion d’honneur, and which still stays today typical of his production.The manufactory somehow resists to the events that mark the first half of the 20th century, such as the two World War or event the 1930’s crisis. Nevertheless, it was nationalized in1948, under the communist regime that asked to destroy the most prestigious art pieces and their moldings. The manufactory has to wait until the end of the 20th century to find again its independence and original name.