Large Ceramic Bowl

Described in the Sèvres 1850 sales register as a 'jatte chinoise, fond céladon," this prominent bowl from the French royal porcelain manufacture presents a distinct color palette with white and blue against mint green. The background color is reminiscent of the Chinese celadon tradition. The decorative repertoire with saz leaves and florals relate however to the Ottoman tradition and may have been introduced from Ottoman silk textiles or perhaps pattern books which circulated at the time in Europe. The vegetal décor appears in low relief and has been applied in the barbotine technique also known as "pâte-sur-pâte" technique, which is in line with the porcelain manufacture tradition which has been in use at Sèvres in the nineteenth century. The bowl thus illustrates well the preference for a hybrid style developing in the mid-nineteenth century in France and the admiration of Islamic art at the time. The bowl was made in 1850 and intended for the first international fair in London, 1851, where it was prominently displayed at The Crystal Palace Great Exhibition of 1851 as part of the Sèvres Court. The reverse of the bowl bears two red circular "R.F." (République Française) marks used on Sèvres porcelain, as well as two green lozenge marks, all of which are dated "S. 50" (Sèvres 1850).