Manufacture de Gien

Pair of Floral Vases, Manufacture de Gien in the style of T. Deck, France, Circa 1880 Earthenware, Gold leaf Embossed Gien Height: 24 cm; Width: 15 cm; Depth: 13 cm Charming pair of polychrome earthenware vases with gold leaf decoration in between, using a technique that Théodore Deck had made a specialty of. These oblong-shaped vases are decorated on each side with bouquets of iris and cyclamen on an orange-brown ground, separated by a frieze of interlaced stylized foliage in Deck blue. Biographies : In 1821, English industrialist Thomas Edme Hulm, known as "Hall", after selling the Montereau factory, which had been run by his family since 1774, acquired the land and buildings of the former Minimes convent in Gien to set up a new English-style earthenware factory, which would later become world-renowned. The company soon ran into financial difficulties and changed hands several times between 1826 and 1862. In 1866, a new partner, Jean-Félix Bapterosses, recently acquired by the former Faïencerie de Briare, brought new capital to the company. The company finally took the name "Faïencerie de Gien" in 1875, when it became a société anonyme. Production, initially focused on utility crockery, shifted to tableware, decorative pieces and services bearing the coat of arms of leading families, calling on the skills of highly talented ceramists. The heyday of Gien earthenware production was between 1855 and 1900, the period of the famous Universal Exhibitions, during which they won numerous awards. A renowned ceramist, Théodore Deck was born in Guebwiller in 1823, and apprenticed in Strasbourg at the Hügelin faience factory. After an initiatory sojourn across Europe, he arrived in Paris in 1847. In 1861, he made his first public appearance at the Salon des Arts et de l'Industrie in Paris, where he won a silver medal for his exhibited work. Acknowledged from this time onwards, Deck was profoundly influenced by the artistic trend of the day: Orientalism. He took on oriental naturalistic motifs with great precision. Emile Reiber (1826-1893), who worked at Christofle as head designer, also produced sketches for Deck. His fame, earned through long years of work, was established at the World's Fairs he took part in: in Vienna in 1873, where he left all his rivals behind; in Paris in 1878, where he won the grand prize for portraits with a gold background. Critically acclaimed at the Exposition de l'Union Centrale des Arts décoratifs in 1874, the "Gazette des Beaux-Arts" (Paris, 1874, Vol. XXXV, p° 310) reported that "Mr Deck, the master of masters, is the purest glory of French ceramics". His life was a succession of achievements aimed at improving earthenware technology. He improved color rendering, including a new turquoise blue commonly known as "Bleu de Deck". Théodore Deck knew he had talent. However, he didn't keep his art to himself; he shared it with other artists and launched young talents without fortune. In this way, he illustrates the revival of ceramic art in the second half of the 19th century. All his methods were made public and published in a book on earthenware. His genius was recognized, and he was promoted to the rank of Officier de la Légion d'Honneur and appointed administrator of the Manufacture de Sèvres in 1887.