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Pierre ROCHE

Price Tax incl.:
16000 EUR

[Head of a young girl, eyes closed, hair untied], ca. 1897 ROCHE Pierre and BIGOT Alexandre (Paris 1855 † 1922 id., and Mer 1862 † 1927 Paris) Enameled stoneware bouquet holder with handles. H. 19.4 cm. W. 13.6 cm. P. 12.7 cm. Base diameter: 7.7 cm. Hélène Bédague, Alexandre Bigot, chimiste & céramiste, Paris, Editions Louvre Victoire, 2016, p. 149. Alastair Duncan, The Paris Salons 1895-1914, Volume IV, Ceramics & Glass, p. 52. Signed "P. ROCHE "under the base and "Ade / ...ot". A similar blue-glazed example, co-signed with ceramist Emile Decoeur, was auctioned in Paris on 25/06/2012 (Millon, no. 82). It is also similar to a bouquet holder with a woman's head (circa 1904), by Pierre Roche and Alexandre Bigot, of roughly the same dimensions, now in the Musée des Arts décoratifs (inv. 27967). In January 1898, a model of our vase was exhibited in Paris at the Salon des cent, alongside works by Grasset, Mucha, Valadon and Toulouse-Lautrec: "M. Pierre Roche is represented by delicately colored gypsographs, two plates and a small head-vase executed in stoneware by Bigot". (La plume, January 1898, p. 157.) Pierre Roche's work is protean. His decompartmentalized approach to the various disciplines of the decorative arts (sculpture, ceramics, medals, engraving) made him one of the most original protagonists of Art Nouveau in France. Our vase, created in association with Alexandre Bigot, is characteristic of the artist's ceramic production, marked by his sculptural practice. The flowing lines of this figure with untied hair evoke the sensuality of works by Rodin, whose pupil Pierre Roche was. The subtle coloring of the glaze also bears the mark of the virtuoso talent of Alexandre Bigot, in whom Pierre Roche found an ideal collaborator in 1895. A key figure in Art Nouveau ceramics, this Doctor of Chemistry, a close friend of Samuel Bing, succeeded in creating glazes with tones comparable to natural gems.

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