Covered Bowl Made Of Sèvres Porcelain With A Paste-on-paste Decoration, By Jules Archelais, Second Empire

This exceptional bowl is an exemplary work of the Sèvres porcelain manufactory during theSecond Empire. It was developed under the direction of Joseph Nicolle and was created using aniridescent paste known as “Chameleon” by Jules Archelais (1842–1907), one of the leadingspecialists in “paste-on-paste” decoration.This unique technique, invented around 1849, produces effectsof relief and translucency reminiscent of the aesthetic of cameos. Here, the“paste-on-paste” decoration is applied to a “Caméléon” paste. Developed for the1862 World’s Fair, this iridescent paste has the property of changing color depending on the light it is exposed to. Innatural light, our bowl takes ona pearl gray hue and, under artificial light, shifts to old rose, passing through anolive green. Our piece, which is clearly dated, illustrates the level of mastery achieved by theSèvres manufactory in the “pâte sur pâte” technique during the Second Empire.These pieces were created by sculptors and engravers, not bypainters. Among the great masters of this technique were Gély, Solon—wholeft the manufactory in 1870 to join Minton—and Jules Archelais (1842–1907), whosigned our bowl.