Large Jean Pouyat Limoges Cake Plate With Hand Painted Roses
Product Description And Additional Pictures
Exquisitely decorated with hand-painted roses, our large, antique porcelain Jean Pouyat Limoges two-handled cake plate - or serving platter - is an exceptional beauty! A skilled artist (who, sadly, did not sign their work) created a subtle and varied background on this antique porcelain serving piece with colors representing the earth; the green hues of the garden, the yellow of daylight and the soft blue of the sky. In the forefront of the hand-painted design is a trio of splendidly colored red, pink and yellow garden roses in full bloom, surrounded by superbly detailed rosebuds, rose hips, leaves, and thorns. Measuring 11-1/2" in diameter from the end of one handle to the end of the other, our plate has a slightly bowled shape and is beautifully preserved. Please examine our photographs carefully for condition, quality and beauty -- this gilt handled antique serving piece is a marvelous example of porcelain artistry and will look splendid in your curio cabinet or on a shelf in your home. Bearing the green backstamp P75a in use by the Pouyat factory from 1891 to 1906, this antique porcelain double handled cake plate - serving platter has only minor wear to the gilt on the handles, and is otherwise in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, nicks, abrasions or discoloration. C'est magnifique!
BRIEF HISTORY: The Pouyat family had a long history in pottery and porcelain. Pierre Pouyat established a faience manufacturing company at Saint-Yrieix around 1760. His son Francois Pouyat (1752 - 1838) owned kaolin deposits and clay works in the Haute-Vienne region. From 1795 to 1800 Francois learned the porcelain business by becoming a partner with Laurentius Russinger in Manufacture de la Courtille, a hard paste manufacturing business at the Locre factory in Paris. In 1800, Francois emerged as the sole owner of La Courtille. His sons Leonard and Jean-Baptiste joined him in operating the factory. In 1816, the two Pouyat brothers formed a partnership with the owner of a factory in Fours to produce porcelain for decoration in Paris. They bought the factory in 1820, and Leonard Pouyat directed operations until his death 1845. The Fours factory continued in production until 1865.
The Locre factory (in Paris) was sold in 1823, but Jean-Baptiste Pouyat remained in Paris for a time as head of sales. However, Pere Francois Pouyat was not yet finished in the porcelain business. He opened a small factory in Limoges in 1832, and then in 1835 he bought a clay works and porcelain workshop established in Saint-Leonard, near Limoges. Jean-Baptiste joined his father at this operation and in 1840 succeeded him as head of operations. In 1844 Jean-Baptiste enlarged the Limoges factory, which employed approximately 127 workers. This factory made porcelain of exceptional whiteness and even texture. The pieces decorated at the factory were renowned for their artistry and elegance. P. Comolera - a modeler - provided designs for Pouyat for over 20 years. Jean Baptiste Pouyat was succeeded by his sons Emile (1806-92), Louis (b 1809) and Leonard-Eugene (1817-76). Emil trained at the Locre factory (Paris) and was head of the Limoges factory from 1849 to 1883. William Guerin purchased the Pouyat Limoges factory in 1911, and continued using the green Pouyat backstamp until the Guerin factory closed in 1922.