FRENCH MAJOLICA AND PALISSYWARE THE PROPERTY OF ANIMAL ART ANTIQUES SESSION III WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY 2004 at 2.00 pm (Lots 700 - 931) The sale is completed by a full session of Palissy ware and majolica, from the collection formed by Charlie and Sue Murphy of Animal Art Antiques. An executive with a Fortune 500 company, Charlie took early retirement to follow his passion for collecting animalia, a move that paid off in a second career and a thriving family business. Start with oysters on the half-shell, langoustine and crab - add a little Cajun spice - and the flavor of New Orleans is captured. In the heart of the French Quarter the Murphy family opened 'Animal Art Antiques', an exotic emporium located on the homesite of Louisiana's first Spanish governor. The gallery featured a menagerie of European animals in all media including trompe l'oeil Palissyware and Barbotine masterworks. Naturalistically moulded, these lively coloured faience wares were at home in The Big Easy, a city famous for its gourmet delicacies and joie de vive. On a rainy day, feed your umbrella to a wide-mouthed fish emerging from the crest of a wave - a wonderfully inventive majolica stand created by Delphin Massier that allows water to pool in the swell itself (lot 738). Another model features a displaying parrot hovering above a timorous mouse clinging to a brush pot (lot 700) and a third is moulded as a well covered with small birds beckoning for your wishes (lot 704). Reminiscent of the Louisiana Bayou, the 'Palissy Room' walls writhed with slippery eels, hidden frogs and coiled vipers. Inspired by the grottos of the 15th century potter Bernard Palissy, highlights include intricately modelled platters and vases by François Maurice, Thomas Sergent and Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. The adjacent 'Oyster Plate Room' presented a similar mosaic of brightly coloured majolica shells interspersed with eye-catching bas-relief asparagus and artichokes plates by St. Clement, Sarreguemines and The Union Porcelain Works among others. This successful combination of Continental factories and styles, of shimmering finishes and sculptural shapes, reinforces the inter-dependence of international trade and design, as valid today as it was centuries ago. The Massier Tradition The Massier family has a long and celebrated history as master potters in the Alpes-Maritimes of the Côte d'Azur, France. Pierre Massier (1707-1748) was designated as the maître potier à terre through his lineage continued, Jacques Massier (1806-1871) and his brother Jérôme (1820-1908). In turn, Jacques was the father of both Clément (1844-1917) and Delphin (1836-1907), as Jérôme was the father of Jean-Baptiste. This dynastic business grew in fame when in the middle of the 19th century they introduced new techniques including d'alquifoux and designs, now classified as Les Barbotines. Shown here is the elegant establishment of Jérômes Massier, in Vallauris Manufacture de Faience d'Art, Galeries d'Exposition et de Vente which was later rivaled by the Clément Massier in Golphe-Juan. See Magnelli, p. 11-25 for a discussion on their production history and their influence on the American Pottery movement at Weller.

A FRENCH MAJOLICA MODEL OF A PARROT AND MOUSE

BLACK PAINTED MARK FOR DELPHIN MASSIER, VALLAURIS, (A.M.), CIRCA 1880

Details

A FRENCH MAJOLICA MODEL OF A PARROT AND MOUSE
BLACK PAINTED MARK FOR DELPHIN MASSIER, VALLAURIS, (A.M.), CIRCA 1880
Naturalistically modelled with wings spread, the large animated exotic bird raising one claw from his perch while spying a small mouse at the rim of one of the supporting cylindrical vases, on a rectangular faux bois base
21 in. (53.3 cm.) high

Lot Essay

See Bottero, p. 76 and 77, fig. 1 and 2 for a similar group titled 'Grand Perroquet en furie'; Magnelli, p. 90 and 108, cat. 84 for a model by Jean Massier in the Collection of Jean Rosen-l'Imprévu; J. Massier, model no. D84 and D. Massier, planche 34, for an archival photograph illustrating this form as model no. 1405.

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