Style Art Nouveau / Ref.15042

Ernest CHAPLET for the HAVILAND manufacture, Vase with aquatic plant decoration, circa 1880

This vase was executed by Ernest Chaplet for the Haviland & Co. manufacture, as evidenced by the mark “H&Co” surrounded by a chaplet incised under the base.

Merchant David Haviland (1814-1879) initially created an import business of earthenware and porcelain with his elder brother in 1838 in New York, Haviland Brothers. In 1842, he founded his own porcelain manufacture in Limoges. He was awarded a gold medal in 1853 in New York and received a silver medal at the World Fair in Paris in 1855. The greatest artists, including Ernest Chaplet, worked for his company, which was taken over by his descendants.

Ernest Chaplet (1835-1909) first learned stoneware work in Normandy. Then, employed by Haviland & Co. in Limoges, he opened a workshop in Paris. He became independent in 1885, then sold his workshop to Auguste Delaherche in 1887. In 1888, he settled in Choisy-le-Roi and dedicated himself to researching copper reds and flamed porcelain. Around 1900, he focused his production on thick flamed porcelain.

In the 1880s, Chaplet primarily produced brown stonewares decorated with colored clays and incised motifs, like our vase. The incisions reveal the underlying stoneware color, while the colored and gilded clay decorations provide great luminosity to the design. The decoration evokes aquatic flora: two large lotus flowers surrounded by reeds stand out against a green and blue background reminiscent of the water’s edge. Above, a swarm of butterflies hovers over the scene. The color variations add to the relief effects created by the artist through the addition or incision of material.

The vase bears the number 83, next to the inscription BR 2/2.

A very similar vase, with its simple form and technique, decorated with flowers and arrowhead leaves, is in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.