QUESTION: I’ve had a ceramic plate with fish in relief swimming on it. I originally bought it at an antique show because I liked the funky decoration. I’m not necessarily a collector, although I have some antiques. I’ve never seen a plate like this since. Can you tell me anything about it?
ANSWER: I believe what you have is a piece of French Palissy ware from the 19th century. Palissy ware usually depicts realistically colored, aquatic landscapes teeming with stalking lizards, swimming fish and slithering snakes amid a rich variety of luxuriant foliage.
Named after the great French, 161h-century, Renaissance potter, Bernard Palissy, who referred to his works as rustique, meaning “in the rustic style.” developed a distinctive style of earthenware. In creating naturalistic scenes of plants and animals and finishing them off with polychrome glazes inspired by nature. He called his three-dimensional creations of lifelike flora and fauna “Art of the Earth” and “rustique,” and they came to be known as “rustique figurines.” Recognizing his talent, the queen of France, Catherine de Medici, brought Palissy to Paris and bestowed upon him the title “The King’s Inventor of Rustic Figurines.”
Palissy wares were so realistic that the creatures he depicted seem ready to hop, slither, or crawl from whatever piece on which they lay. He sculpted each scale on a snake, each rib in a fish’s fin, each vein running through a leaf. He often cast each creature from master molds created from the creatures themselves. The wares often exhibit extraordinary detail and complexity. Although we may see closely matched pairs of urns, vases, or platters, subtle differences in glazing, placements and textures, assure each piece is unique.
The use of many individual molds for components means creating Palissy style wares is far more complicated than many other ceramics. Each piece can take as long as 10 to 15 days over a period of two to three months to complete because of drying time. Artists use individual molds to create each element, which then becomes part of the composition.
It wasn’t until 250 years after his death in 1590, that French ceramist,Charles-Jean Avisseau from Tours, rediscovered Palissy’s lost secrets and started a revivalist movement lasting 50 years.
Avisseau joined a Tours pottery where he learned the art of ceramics, painting and sculpture. In 1825 he was hired to supervise the ceramic works of Baron de Besenval.
Once. during a visit to the Baron’s home, Avisseau was shown a ceramic piece attributed to Bernard Palissy and became so enraptured by its brilliant enamel and delicate workmanship that he decided to devote his life to the rediscovery of Palissy's secrets-For more than 15 years, he researched the chemistry and fusion of leaded enamels to recreate and then surpass the work of "Master Bernard:' After he exhibited his work at the Great Universal Exhibition of London in 1851 as well as in the 1849 and 1855 Exhibitions in Paris, his fame grew.
Avisseau created clocks, fountains, dishes, candle-sticks. fish baskets and mirror frames, all sought by wealthy collectors, statesmen, aristocrats and museum curators.
Even though he became successful at producing Palissy ware, Avisseau shared his knowledge willingly with other ceramists.
Joseph Landais, who was himself a skilled potter, left his family while quite young to work in an earthenware factory. In 1843, he joined Avisseau's workshop for a few months, then established his own shop, claiming that he, not Avisseau, had rediscovered Palissy's secrets. The feud continued throughout Avisseau's life. Landais also exhibited his works at the 1851 Great Universal Exhibition of London, at which he received a meritorious award. He produced a variety of vases, platters, plates, pitchers, mirrors, urns, as well as some monumental works.
Leon Brard painted marine still lifes. He experimented with different clays and glazes during his 10 years in Paris, producing a variety of plates, plaques and platters. In 1859, Brard met Avisseau during a visit to Tours, moved there, and became a frequent visitor to the master's workshop while employed at a local pottery. Two years later, Brard opened his own shop. With an artistic and original style, he became known for his trompe l'oeil works on white faience surrounded by a cobalt blue border in the style of Rouen. At first glance, these works appear to be an artful presentation of fresh fish as might be served in the restaurant.
reputation encouraged other ceramists to emulate his works. Victor Barbizet established a pottery workshop in 1845 to produce ordinary household ceramics and later Palissy ware. Around 1850, Victor and his son, Achille, moved to Paris and began to mass-produce Palissy ware. Over a period of about 30 years, the firm became very successful, employing approximately 60 workers at its peak.
However, the best known ceramist to follow the Palissy ware tradition was Alfred Renoleau, who lived and worked in and near the town of Angouleme in western France. His factory flourished for nearly 40 years and employed up to 40 workers.
And like Avisseau, he marveled at the works of Palissy which he saw during a visit to a decorative arts exhibition in Bordeaux. At night the young Renoleau practiced making ceramics using a homemade kiln in the attic of his house. Later, he persuaded his father to let. him work for one year in a nearby pottery, and promised to return if the craft disappointed him. Needless to say, he didn’t return home. He often signed his earlier pieces “Falder,” an anagram of his first name. In 1889, he moved to nearby Roumazieres at the Polakowski and Company factory where he produced some of his finest work. In 1891,he opened a small factory in Angouleme, but later moved to larger quarters.
While these ceramists made Palissy ware with the same type of clay and glazes as other forms of majolica, Palissy ware usually features darker colors and a more varied palette of brilliant enamels. Palissy ware is best distinguished from other majolica ware by its subject matter of fish, snakes and lizards recreated in realistically depicted pond life_
Because Palissy ware was decorative and non-utilitarian, pieces have survived in extraordinary condition. Unlike Victorian majolica which was made in production quantities, Palissy ware is unique. In most cases an artist working made his pieces alone, with no two being identical. Palissy ware hasn’t been produced for over a century.
Some ceramists marked their Palissy ware while others did not, and some marked their wares sometimes, but not always. Many scratched their signatures or monograms on to their pieces.
The pricing for 19th-century French Palissy ware runs from a few hundred dollars to several thousand or mare. Small works ranging from 2 to 3 inches generally run between $150 and $300 depending on condition and maker. Small pieces include goblets, cache pots, and bud vases. Larger versions, measuring about six inches, often sell for double. Medium size plates measuring 8 to l0 inches in diameter by such ceramists as Barbizet often sell for $1,000 to $2,500. And platters ranging in size from 12 to 18 inches can sell for $2,500 to $5,000.
Finding Palissy ware is easier in France than in the United States, however, U.S. antique dealers who specialize in majolica often carry it.
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