Style Japonism, Chinoiserie / Ref.16682

DECK THéodore, Vase with peach blossom chinoiserie decoration

Inspired by a 19th century Chinese bronze in the Cernuschi collection, this vase is decorated with a purple manganese glaze that highlights the beauty of “Deck blue” and is an exceptional example of the Chinese taste found in Theodore Deck’s production. Exemplifying the eclecticism of the decorative arts in the second half of the 19th century, the artist was first inspired by Iznik ceramics before imbuing his production with Far-Eastern influences. From 1863, he perfected ceramics that had turquoise-colored glazes that imitated Chinese glazeware, culminating in the famous “Deck blue” a few years later. Deck was a gifted designer who never stopped doing research on colored glazes (blue, green, celadon, aubergine...). The complete mastery of the glaze used on this piece clearly illustrates the culmination of these studies. The exceptional quality of execution places it at the very summit of the artist’s creations and makes it a masterpiece of the Far Eastern aesthetic movement of the time.
The opening of Asia to the West, as well as the founding of such famous collections as Empress Eugénie’s Chinese Museum at Fontainebleau or the collection brought together by Henri Cernuschi between 1871 and 1873 at the time of his travels, had a great influence on the decorative arts of the period that were dominated by a fascination with the Far East.  On the side of the vase, a peach branch seems to spring forth from the vase’s body and delicately surrounds a Chinese character, the word shou: both symbols meaning longevity. First displayed at the Universal Exhibition of 1878, the vase was a great success and the artist had several copies made: one is now conserved at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, another at the Musée Adrien Dubouché in Limoges. Our vase varies slightly from the pieces in Paris and Limoges as the bats that adorn those examples have disappeared. It is also different from the museum pieces in that our vase is mounted with an elegant gilt-bronze base that was specially created using the motif taken from the ceramic branch, thus underscoring the great opulence of this exceptional work.

Trained in Alsace, Théodore Deck opened his own shop in Paris in 1856. From the very beginning, he surrounded himself with well-known artists, such as Félix Bracquemont, who collaborated with him on his artistic creations. Each time Deck showed his work, he won a medal: at the Universal Exhibition of 1862 in London, in Paris in 1867 or, yet again, a First Class Medal and an Honorary Degree at the exhibitions held at the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs in 1863 and 1865. As the ultimate recognition of his exceptional talent, Théodore Deck was named Director of the Sèvres factory where he assumed his position in 1887.

The beauty of its colors, the elegance of its decoration and the virtuosity of its execution make this vase an exceptional work that illustrates perfectly what the jury of the Exhibition of 1878 said of Théodore Deck: “In his work, one finds the poetry and the simplicity of the great masters” (Report of the international jury of the Universal Exhibition of 1878).