Polynesia Mirror by Mithé Espelt, 1965

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Marie-Thérèse Espelt, better known as Mithé Espelt, was born on October 16, 1923, in Lunel, and died on September 24, … Read more Marie-Thérèse Espelt, better known as Mithé Espelt, was born on October 16, 1923, in Lunel, and died on September 24, 2020, in the same town. She was a French ceramicist. At the age of 16, she moved to Montpellier, where she enrolled at the School of Fine Arts and studied drawing and sculpture under Pierre Soulages and Valentine Schelgel. from 1942, she continued her studies at the Fontcarrade School, also in Montpellier, where she learned ceramics from Émilie Decanis.
At the end of World War II, Mithé Espelt opened her own ceramics studio, where she created jewelry, boxes, and mirrors, which she sold in galleries throughout the region, as well as in Martinique. Uninterested in recognition and posterity, Mithé Espelt never signed her work. Towards the end of her life, some of her work was attributed to another ceramicist: François Lembo. Intrigued, art collector Antoine Candau managed to track down the true artist and organized her first exhibition in 2020 at the Anne-Sophie Duval Gallery in Paris, which opened just days after Mithé Espelt's death.

Bibliography: Antoine Candau, Mithé Espelt, le luxe discret du quotidien (Mithé Espelt, the Discreet Luxury of Everyday Life), Éditions Odyssée, 209 pp.

Needless to say, this artist's reputation continues to grow! This mirror, along with other remarkable pieces, comes from the shop of a friend of Mithé Espelt in Martinique, who sold them in the early 1970s. I have official proof of authenticity such as vintage catalogs,
designer records,
or other literature sources and take full responsibility for any authenticity issues arising
from
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