Vintage Ceramic Tile Plaque, 1950s

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Description

MEASUREMENTS (including stand):
Height: 27.5 cm; Width: 17.5 cm; Depth: 1.5 cm

Item :
Polychrome ceramic sculptural plaque depicting the … Read more MEASUREMENTS (including stand):
Height: 27.5 cm; Width: 17.5 cm; Depth: 1.5 cm

Item :
Polychrome ceramic sculptural plaque depicting the frontal bust of a young woman, mounted within a sturdy honey-brown wooden stand/frame. The figure is not simply painted on a flat surface, but modeled in relief: the strongly elongated oval face, the well-developed neck, the voluminous hair, and the hand held diagonally across the chest exhibit a truly sculptural quality, with variations in thickness and a textured surface that demonstrate craftsmanship rather than a simple printed image. The face is characterized by almond-shaped eyes, a thin nose, a small, open mouth, and a thoughtful, suspended expression; The woman wears a yellow-olive green dress with a dense vertical decoration reminiscent of a textured or fringed fabric, rendered through glazes of varying thicknesses in shades of dark green, green-blue, and yellow-brown. The base of the plaque is the most distinctive and material element of the entire object: an irregular texture in shades of purple, lilac, gray, and pale blue-white, creating a fragmented, almost crystalline visual effect that enhances the pale figure in the foreground by contrast. The edges of the plaque are intentionally irregular, further emphasizing the piece's artisanal character. The wooden support, of simple construction with 45° corner joints, features a solid panel on the back with a metal hook for suspension, in addition to normal signs of use and small gaps at the joints consistent with age. There is no visible signature, initials, or identifying mark, so the work should be described as unsigned. Stylistically, the elongated oval face, slender neck, thin nose, small mouth, and almond-shaped eyes clearly recall the figurative language of Amedeo Modigliani, although the plaque does not faithfully reproduce a specific painting by the artist: the author freely reworks that vocabulary through a more specifically decorative and ceramic sensibility, typical of Italian taste between the late 1950s and 1960s, as also suggested by the voluminous hairstyle and the graphic interpretation of the figure, close to the aesthetics and fashion illustration of the period. For all these reasons, the work is attributable to an unidentified Italian ceramist and dates between 1955 and 1965. See less