Longchamp s Wild Majolica Menagerie: French Majolica Palissy Dish

Léon Brard's Midnight Pond Plate French Majolica Palissy Dish, "Frogs Amongst Lilies" Artist/Maker: Léon Brard (French, active late 19th century) Date: Circa 1890 Medium: Earthenwa...

Marseille Faïence Chinoiserie Footed Tray (Bannette), Attributed to the Leroy Workshop, Circa 1730 The center with two vignettes of courting couples separated by a central flowering...

Vibrant Prosperity: A Famille Verte 'Flower Basket' Dish from the Kangxi Golden Age This magnificent Chinese Export porcelain dish, dating to the height of the Kangxi Period (c. 1700-1710), is a resplendent example of the famed famille verte (green family) palette. This enameling technique, characterized by its brilliant, translucent greens, yellows, and blues, reached its zenith under the patronage of the Kangxi Emperor, ushering in a golden age of ceramic production at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen (Guest and Gray). Auspicious Symbolism and Design Mastery The dish is a feast of intricate design and rich symbolism, centered on an openwork beribboned basket of peony and lotus flowers. The flower basket motif is highly auspicious in Chinese art, being one of the attributes of the Daoist Immortal Lan Caihe, and symbolizes longevity and good fortune (Sotheby's, Lot 657, 2015). This meaning is powerfully reinforced by the inclusion of a central shou character (寿) in the basket, the Chinese ideograph for Longevity, a core wish in Chinese culture for a long, healthy, and prosperous life (Metropolitan Museum of Art). The presence of the shou character, often incorporated into designs for Imperial birthday celebrations during this era, underscores the dish's grand and celebratory intent. The radial design radiates outward with petal-shaped reserves in the cavetto, each containing detailed flowering plants issuing from rockwork, all set against a signature pale-green stippled ground (Dizi). The border completes the composition with an ornate pattern of green trellis-work punctuated by iron-red flower heads, alternating with oval panels containing various Precious Objects (Ba Gu), further emphasizing wealth and good fortune. This large dish, at over 14 inches in diameter, was one of the exquisite items commissioned for the European export market, particularly by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), where its vibrant colors and complex iconography were highly prized by wealthy clientele (Guest and Gray). The reverse, painted in underglaze blue with delicate floral sprays, maintains a link to the more traditional Chinese aesthetic. This piece is a tangible embodiment of the technical sophistication and artistic brilliance that made Kangxi famille verte porcelain...

The Piero Fornasetti Pip motif oval dish is painted on a dark blue ground with a gilt design of two pipes entwined with tobacco leaves and tied together with a central ribbon. Ref...

Barbizet (attributed) French Palissy Majolica wall platter which features fish (including a pike), a snake, a lizard, a frog, insects, shellfish and leaves. Colouration: blue, green,...

Francois Maurice French Palissy Majolica wall platter which features three fish and an eel to the centre. Scattered around the platter are shellfish, a frog, a tortoise, a lizard, a snake, a langoustine, beetles, fern leaves, lily pads and cat tails. Colouration: blue, green, white, are predominant. The piece bears maker's marks for the Francois Maurice pottery.

School of Paris French Palissy Majolica wall platter which features three overlapping fish on a water-effect ground, to the centre. A lizard, shellfish...

Barbizet French Palissy Majolica wall platter which features fish (including a pike), a snake, a lizard, a frog, a turtle, insects, shellfish blackberries and leaves. Colouration: bl...