DESIGNED BY ALEXANDRE SANDIER, SECOND QUARTER 20TH CENTURY, IMPRESSED UPPERCASE MARKS AND '539', MODEL NO. 1272, AND STAMPED MARK

Alexandre Sandier (1843-1916) trained as an architect at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris from 1862-1868 before becoming a decorator and designer at the Sarreguemines factory. In 1881 Sandier entered a plaster prototype of this form for the competition Prix de Sèvres, which was so successfully received that it went on to be reproduced in majolica (fig. 1). The decorative moulding on the vase is emblematic of ceramic production with the urn motif repeated on the footrim of the base as well as the central frieze. The Sarreguemines Museum described this model as a ‘Coupe Sandier’ in their 1990 catalogue De l’Utile au Futile: une grand variété d'objets. Another jardiniere on stand of the same model and with a marble plinth sold in these rooms 18 September 2014, lot 14 (£18,750).