Giraud Limoges “Birds of the Caribbean” Porcelain Jardinière, 1978

Details

Description

A scalloped, footed porcelain jardinière with heavy gilt scrollwork along the rim, handles, and feet, set against a soft sage … Read more A scalloped, footed porcelain jardinière with heavy gilt scrollwork along the rim, handles, and feet, set against a soft sage green ground. Each side is hand-painted with a different Caribbean bird in flight among flowering branches and white blossoms, one a streamer-tail (Trochilus polymus) from Jamaica shown with its wings fanned open, the other a rufous-tailed jacamar from Trinidad perched among red trumpet flowers.

The painting style is detailed and naturalistic, clearly researched rather than decorative shorthand, with each bird identified by both common and scientific name on the underside, along with the maker’s mark for Giraud, Limoges, France and the date 1978. The artist’s signature, “Ruth Tallman,” appears on the side with the white blossoms.

Gilt scrollwork frames each painted panel like a cartouche, giving the piece a formal, almost museum-label quality alongside its decorative function. See less