Enamel Cup By Joseph Mougin

Cup on a pedestal in enamelled sandstone decorated with a blue, brown, ocher and green geometric frieze on the perimeter with beautiful oxide flows and iridescence inside the cup. It is signed by Joseph Mougin (1876-1961), one of the famous Mougin brothers established in Nancy and bears the number 303J.

The Mougin brothers are ceramists and sculptors from Nancy from the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras, sons of the Vosges deputy Xavier Mougin. Born in 1876, Joseph Mougin began by following courses at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Nancy, which he continued at the Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1897, he was introduced to ceramics, joined in 1878 in Montrouge by his brother Pierre, born in 1880. They returned to Nancy in 1906, beginning a production on plant themes and research on natural vitrifications. Under the leadership of Victor Prouvé, from 1923 they would direct the Luneville-St-Clément earthenware factory, which in 1925 would win the grand prize for ceramics at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. The Mougin brothers collaborate with artists such as Wittmann, Majorelle, Finot or Bussière. Joseph will leave this factory in 1933 and his brother Pierre in 1936. Joseph will get back to work by continuing his research on enamel and will die in 1961, predeceased by Pierre in 1955. Joseph's four children will also have a career in the fields ceramics, sculpture and art history.

Sources: Wikipedia, gres-mougin.fr