Ref.14041
Théodore DECK, Large vase of Far Eastern inspiration, late 19th century

This large “blue Deck” vase was created by Théodore Deck, bearing his signature and seal, at the end of the 19th 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.

Ref.15022
Théophile SOYER, Renaissance-Style Ornamental Dish, 1880

This enameled ornamental dish was created by Théophile Soyer in 1880. Théophile Soyer (1853-1940) learned his craft from his father, Paul Soyer, who was already practicing the technique of painted enamels, before joining the École des Beaux-Arts. He studied under Eugène Levasseur and Adolphe Yvon. He began working with enamel in Courbevoie, then joined his father's workshop, which he took over in 1896. He exhibited for the first time at the Salon in 1870, then regularly between 1875 and 1882, as well as at the Expositions of the Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts starting in 1876. His great technical mastery was rewarded with a silver medal at the World’s Fair in 1889, and then a gold medal in 1900. Soyer actively participated in the artistic life of his time: he was successively Vice-President of the Chamber of Ceramics and Glassware and President of the Société des Éclectiques, a humorous society founded in 1872 by etchers and poets. He married Eugénie Dejoux, a painter-enameler of Genevan origin, with whom he had a daughter, Jeanne, who worked with her parents before marrying in 1906. Théophile Soyer's work was part of the troubadour and Neo-Renaissance movements, at a time when past styles were in vogue.

Ref.15047
Armand POINT, Preparatory drawing for the painting Young Woman with the Green Toque, 1905

This portrait of a woman in red chalk was executed by Armand Point in 1905. A lover of Italy from 1893 onwards, Armand Point (1861-1932) was notably influenced by the Florentine Primitives and the masters of the Italian Renaissance. This work is a testament to that influence. It is the preparatory drawing for one of his paintings, Young Woman with the Green Toque. The model is the artist’s second wife, Helga Weeke, with whom he traveled to Venice for the second time in 1905. In the background, one can distinguish a campanile, perhaps that of the Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, and the silhouette of a Venetian palace with precisely described architecture, behind the canal where a canoe is navigating. On the right, a garden adorned with a fountain. The softness of the woman’s features and the serenity of her expression echo another red chalk drawing of Helga, characterized by its pronounced sensuality.