Vase With Handles Shaped Like Elephant Heads, Montigny-sur-loing Earthenware, Schopin Workshop, 19th Century

A large earthenware vase from Montigny-sur-Loing, cylindrical in shape and slightly bulging, resting on a small circular foot and topped by a flared neck.

The piece is adorned with two remarkable zoomorphic handles entirely modeled in the shape of elephant heads. Their long, curved trunks follow the silhouette of the vase and give it a particularly original presence.

The body is adorned with an abundant polychrome floral decoration, consisting of poppies, daisies, and foliage, rendered in the naturalistic style of “Impressionist ceramics” developed in Montigny-sur-Loing during the last quarter of the 19th century. The flowers, freely arranged on a slightly mottled celadon-blue background, are rendered with soft, impasto brushstrokes, evoking the spontaneity of oil painting.

The interior is coated with a brown-orange glaze. The base bears the handwritten mark “M.s.L.”, standing for Montigny-sur-Loing, accompanied by a decorator’s mark in blue.

This elephant-decorated form, significantly less common than the baluster vases traditionally found in Montigny’s production, is a particularly charming decorative design. The piece can be linked to the works of the studio of Louis-Eugène Schopin, who was active in Montigny-sur-Loing beginning in the 1870s.

In good overall condition, with some minor wear to the glaze and slight signs of age visible, particularly on the reliefs and the rim.

Late 19th century.
Shipping: 30 euros within France, 80 euros within the EU, and 150 euros to the rest of the world.