Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-0

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-1

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-2

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-3

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-4

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-5

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-6

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-7

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-8

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-9

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-10

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-11

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-12

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-13

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-14

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-15

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century-16

Style Other / Ref.15730

Félix Optat MILET, Large enamelled dish on a gold background, 19th century

Dimensions

Height 1'' ⅝ 4cm
diameter: 9'' 23cm

This beautiful dish with a gold background and flower decoration signed “Milet Sèvres” was made by Félix Optat Milet in polychrome enamelled ceramic and gold background. It is treated in the manner of a cloisonné. This technique was also used by his son Paul.

Félix Optat MILET (ceramist) RICHARD (decorator), Large circular decorative dish with polychrome enamelled flowers on a gold background, ©Osenat. All rights reserved.

Paul MILET, Polychrome enamelled ceramic ovoid vase decorated with violets on a gold leaf background, c. 1900, ©Art-K-Typ. All rights reserved.

The two plates respectively feature a group of white lilies contrasting with the coloured irises at their feet (red, mauve, blue and pink) on the one hand, and a dragonfly close to a fuchsia plant on the other hand.

Félix Optat Milet (1838-1911) descended from a line of potters from the village of Bully. In 1862, he joined the Manufacture de Sèvres as a modeller, joining his brother Ambroise, director of kilns and pastes. Optat then became a decorator. In 1866, after applying to the Sèvres Town Hall, he built a kiln very close to the Manufacture. This independent business enabled him to fire his own earthenware and stoneware, which was sold in the shop attached to the factory, and to employ turners, decorators and sales staff. Paul Milet took over from his father at the head of the company in 1890, followed by his grandson Henri Milet in 1931. The company closed in 1971.

At the 1889 Universal Exhibition, Milet won a gold medal for a very large pair of vases (1.3 metres high). It was also in the 1880s that Félix Optat Milet and Clément Massier founded the Delvaux boutique (18, rue royale, Paris), which continued until the 1970s. Throughout his career, Félix Optat Milet benefited from his collaborations with the artists of his time and from his own creativity.