Antique French Provincial Faience Bird Plate, Hand Painted

Details

Description

A wonderfully expressive antique French tin-glazed faience plate, hand painted with a stylized exotic bird perched on a flowering branch. … Read more A wonderfully expressive antique French tin-glazed faience plate, hand painted with a stylized exotic bird perched on a flowering branch. The decoration is executed in the traditional French faience palette of deep cobalt blue, green, ochre-orange, and manganese purple. The central bird is surrounded by a bold scalloped border of green arches, manganese brushstrokes, cobalt dots, and double ochre lines. The plate has all the character of early provincial faience: an irregular hand-formed body, uneven tin glaze, firing pits and imperfections, and an exposed reddish-buff foot ring on the reverse. The design and construction are consistent with French faïence populaire, likely associated with the Nevers tradition or a related provincial workshop. The bird-on-branch motif and restrained high-temperature palette were particularly popular in French faience during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Origin: France Attributed

Region: Nevers or related provincial French workshop

Date: Circa 1780–1820

Material: Tin-glazed earthenware / faience Decoration: Hand painted

Diameter: 19.5 cm / approximately 7.7 inches

Markings: Unmarked Condition Very good antique condition for its considerable age.

No major chips, cracks, or repairs observed. There are minor glaze losses, edge wear, firing pits, glaze irregularities, and other small imperfections characteristic of early hand-made faience. Please review all photographs closely, as they form part of the condition description. The irregularities in the glaze and body are part of the plate's original manufacture and contribute greatly to its historic character. A beautiful example of early French folk pottery, ideal for a collection of antique faience, French country ceramics, Nevers pottery, or European folk art. See less