Design 17/20: Silver, Furniture & Ceramics

Design 17/20: Silver, Furniture & Ceramics

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 278. Six Large Portuguese Palissy-Style Trompe l'oeil Dishes, Late 19th Century.

California Regency: Property from a Distinguished Los Angeles Collection

Six Large Portuguese Palissy-Style Trompe l'oeil Dishes, Late 19th Century

Lot Closed

April 5, 03:18 PM GMT

Estimate

4,000 - 6,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Six Large Portuguese Palissy-Style Trompe l'oeil Dishes, Late 19th Century


applied with various amphibians and insects including lizards, snakes, large frogs, beetles, a snail, and winged insects, on a shredded moss ground, five with impressed lozenge mark for Jose A. Cunha, Portugal, Caldas Rainha, one with impressed crowned mark for M. Mafra Caldas, Portugal


diameter of largest 12 1/8 in.

31 cm

Portugese Palissy ware differs considerably from French examples, thanks to the work of Manuel Cipriano Gomes Mafra. Originally working as a waiter, Mafra moved to the town of Caldas da Rainha to work at the famed factory of Maria dos Cacos, which he soon took over. At Caldas, Mafra pioneered a style of Palissy ware that featured a distinctive usage of moss as a decorative bed for fish, lizards, and insects, a style quickly adopted by other Portuguese manufacturers of Palissy war.