Haviland & Cie – Albert Dammouse – Plate With A Great Blue Heron, Japanese-style Relief Decoration, 1885

Ivory-colored hard-paste porcelain dinner plate made by Haviland & Cie in Limoges in the 1880s.

It features a remarkable Japanese-inspired design dominated by a large standing heron depicted in profile, rendered with great economy of means in shades of gray-brown and black, accented with touches of gold. A second bird in flight enlivens the upper part of the composition.

The very free arrangement of the design, which deliberately leaves large areas of the porcelain exposed, fully reflects the influence of Japanese prints on French decorative arts in the late 19th century.

The appeal of this plate also lies in its extraordinary white-on-white relief decoration, which is entirely different from that of the other example.

The center features a dense, sinuous motif set within a large, multilobed medallion, which is itself surrounded by a radiating frieze. The rim is covered with a network of stylized flowers and branches, ending in a series of crozier motifs.

This extremely delicate work is almost tone-on-tone under normal light. When viewed against the light, however, the plate reveals the full complexity of its decoration: variations in the thickness of the porcelain make the motifs appear with astonishing clarity, creating a beautiful effect similar to paste-on-paste.

The relief design is reminiscent of the creations made by Albert Dammouse for Haviland beginning in 1879, which were later produced by the Limoges factory during the years 1883–1889.

The wading bird design, meanwhile, is part of the major Japonist trend that developed at Haviland during this period, particularly in the works of Félix Bracquemond.

Markings on the reverse:
H & C° / L
Haviland & C° Limoges

Limoges, circa 1883–1889.

Diameter: 24 cm.

A very beautiful and rare plate from Haviland’s artistic production of the late 19th century.

Shipping: 14 euros within France, 25 euros within the EU, and 100 euros to the rest of the world.

We have a second plate that pairs with this one for sale in our gallery.