Joan Miró

Galerie Maeght, Paris
Irving Luntz, New York
Marvin & Janet Fishman, Milwaukee
Private Collection, Germany (and sold: Karl & Faber Kunstauktionen, Munich, December 3, 2010, lot 464)
Private Collection, France (acquired at the above sale and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 4, 2011, lot 376)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

José Pierre & José Corredor-Matheos, Céramiques de Miró et Artigas, Paris, 1974, no. 186, illustrated p. 217
Francesc Miralles, Llorens Artigas, Barcelona, 1992, no. 660, illustrated p. 278
Joan Punyet Miró & Joan Gardy Artigas, Joan Miró & Josep Llorens Artigas, Ceramics, Catalogue raisonné, 1941-1981, Paris, 2007, no. 208, illustrated in color p. 182

In very good, slightly dirty condition. Patina on the glazing is slightly speckled and is most likely just somewhat dirty. Some hairline cracks to the white pigment inherent to medium. On reverse, one small chip filled with color. Otherwise in fine condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Having met as art students in Barcelona, Joan Miró and Josep Llorens Artigas would go on to revive the medium of ceramics in the post-war period. The present striking example was produced in the year that signaled international recognition of this influential collaboration. Although initiated as early as 1944, it was from 1953 that the pair worked most prolifically, with their center of operations based at the Aritgas studio in Gallita, outside Barcelona. Artigas, and later his son Juan, created forms for Miró to paint and these pieces were then signed by both artists. They created plates, plaques and vases, though Miró also used this medium to develop his understanding of a wider variety of artistic objects, experimenting with the eggs, pebbles and abstract figurines to which his later sculptural oeuvre is strongly indebted.

In 1956, the same year this Antiplat was produced, a joint exhibition was held at the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York. This exhibition no doubt encouraged the 1957 commission of a mural commemorating Alicia Patterson Guggenheim. Emboldened by the successful installation of the Walls of the Sun and Moon at the UNESCO building in 1955 and inspired by the "first mural of the world" at the cave of Altamira which they also visited in 1957, the pair produced 190 tiles between 1965 and 1967 which are still in place today at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.