Very rare ewer from the Fontainebleau or Paris workshop

Very rare ewer from the Paris or Fontainebleau workshop, follower of Palissy, of octagonal form, with polychrome decoration in tones of brown, green, and ochre. The upper register is decorated with female figures in relief, each holding a palm branch and a bird, while the lower register shows women each holding a cornucopia, framed by leafy scrolls on a grey ground.

The handle terminates in a dolphin head in relief at its upper end, and the interior of the foot and of the ewer is covered with a green glaze.

This model is of extreme rarity. The only other known octagonal ewer, of smaller dimensions, presents a marbled decoration without figurative elements; it is preserved in the Musée de la Céramique in Limoges and recorded as attributed to Bernard Palissy, 16th century.

Late 16th–early 17th century.

Provenance:
Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827–1905);
Baron Édouard de Rothschild (1868–1949);
Baron Guy de Rothschild (1909–2007), Hôtel Lambert, Paris, and by descent.