Style Napoleon III / Ref.13799

Théodore DECK, blue dish with female bust in profile, second half of the 19th century

This ornamental dish was made by Théodore Deck during the second half of the 19^th century.

Théodore Deck initially trained as a stove maker. When he set up on his own in Paris in 1858, he made stove linings and, building on his success, moved into ceramics. The studio produced a large number of dishes, sometimes in collaboration with well-known painters. He 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.

The ceramist produced a whole series of dishes decorated with portraits of famous or anonymous people: Sarah Bernhardt as Dona Sol or a young woman against a blue background (Théodore Deck and Paul-César Helleu, c. 1880-1890, Aguttes sale 12 December 2014). The beautiful unknown on this dish seems to belong to the latter category.

Deck worked in a wide variety of styles. Influenced by both Japonism and historicism, he nevertheless dressed the woman on this plate in a timeless manner: wearing a feathered hat and discreet earrings, her untied hair spreads over her shawl, which covers a simple red dress. As is often the case with this artist, the background is finely crafted in its hues and modelling, lending movement to the composition while at the same time highlighting the painted bust. Deck sometimes enlisted the services of other painters to execute these portraits, but here there is no signature other than his own.

The Peter Marino collection has a work executed in the same spirit as this dish. The bust of a young woman, also depicted in profile, is shown here; the outfit, of great simplicity, is also sublimated by a feathered hat. The background, populated by fantastical creatures, is finely modelled.