L-r. Carrier Belleuse, Planters With Ducks & Ducklings, Barbotine Choisy Le

This polychrome glazed earthenware jardinière depicts a duck surrounded by its ducklings in a high-relief naturalistic scene. The finely modeled forms and lustrous glazes, in shades of blue, brown, and green, bring vitality to the composition and highlight the realism of the plumage and vegetal setting.

Set on a base evoking a waterside landscape, the central cavity forms a small basin intended for plants. Signed “L. Carrier-Belleuse” and bearing the mark of the Choisy-le-Roi manufactory, this 34 cm high piece exemplifies the union of ceramic craftsmanship and the 19th-century taste for animal subjects.