Ref. : 3410-10-en

 

 

Large Ultramarine Blue Art Deco Bowl in stoneware.
Louis Delachenal (1897-1966) - Sevres Manufactory

 

 

Origine

France, Sèvres, dated 1933

H : 16,4 cm / 6.5 in.
Ø : 23 cm / 9.1 in.

 

Description

N° 4

Large flamed ultramarine blue bowl in enamelled stoneware (Gres Tendre) by Louis Delachenal.

This shape was designed by Louis Delachenal (1897-1966) for the Manufacture Nationale de Sevres.

 

Signature

Decoration mark : "Rose" mark : "S / Sèvres / Manufacture Nationale / France" with letter-date "f" (for 1933) in a cartouche.
Engraved stamp of the decorator and designer of the shape of the bowl Louis Delachenal : "Delachenal".
Marks: "GT" (for Gres Tendre) engraved in a cartouche.
Label : "DEL  79 / 400 / [unreadable]" inscribed with black ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes

With its pure lines and its beautiful flamed ultramarine blue color this large bowl is iconic of the "golden age" of the stoneware creation at the Sevres Manufacture that followed the set up of the "atelier des gres" led by Louis Delachenal.


Having joined the faience studio (“atelier des faiences”) at the Sevres Manufacture in 1924, Delachenal devoted his skills and his knowledge of chemical and technical processes to serving a global vision of ceramic arts.

From 1927 to 1930, he developed a new stoneware paste, called “gres tendre” (“soft stoneware” or "GT"), which has exceptional qualities. This highly plastic paste can be worked by potters as well as sculptors and can be fired at relatively lower temperatures than other stoneware (1280 degrees C.), which enables it to receive all kinds of decoration and glazes.

A new stoneware studio (“atelier des gres”) is set up in 1930-1931 by Delachenal who then develops a range of exceptional quality “stoneware glazes” (“emaux de gres”) that will be used for a series of vases and bowls with very pure shapes combining aesthetic and function.

This return to pure lines and functional use, much inspired by the Orient, reflects the new and unique role that potters and ceramic artists will play in the independant creation in subsequent years.

The creations of Louis Delachenal for the Manufacture de Sèvres are now present in the collections of major museums such as the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture in Paris: Coupe (Inv. AM 1260 OA) and Vase AM 1259 OA) or the Museum of Decorative Arts of Paris: Vase (MNAM AM 1259 OA) and Coupe (MNAM AM 1260 OA).

It is impossible to think about luxury French ceramics without the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory coming immediately to mind. Always in the top of classic or contemporary French Design, Sevres artists and craftsmen have maintained a standard of excellence and elegance for more than 250 years. For the French, the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory is considered as part of their inheritance as national treasure.



Biography

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (1740 to the present).

In 1740, with the assistance of Louis XV and of Madame de Pompadour, a porcelain manufactory was established in Vincennes. In 1756, the manufactory was re-located to Sèvres, where, at the initiative of Madame de Pompadour, larger quarters were constructed in relatively close proximity to the château de Bellevue. In 1759, the manufactory went over to the French Crown.




More information ...

While the history of the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory in first half of the 19th century was dominated by one sole administrator, Alexandre Brongniart (1770 - 1847), who occupied the position of director from 1800 until his death, the tumultuous second half of the 19th century would, by contrast, bear witness to a series of successions with Elbemen (1847-1852), Victor Regnault (1852-1871), Louis Robert (1871-1879) and Charles Laught all succeeding to the post. Laught’s run as director, however, would come to an abrupt end when in 1887 he was forced to stand down, only to be replaced by the famous Théodore Deck who occupied the position until his untimely death in 1891. And so once again the manufactory took on a new image with Emile Baumgart serving as administrator and two further members acting as technical director and director of art respectively.   
Nevertheless, the real aesthetic revolution in the history of the Sèvres manufactory took place when Alexandre Sandier was named director of art in 1897. Sandier would be responsible for designing a full ensemble of completely new forms, characterised by the juxtaposition of smooth surfaces with the more naturalist relief surfaces common in Art Nouveau. This figuration would then give way to the concept of using vegetables and animals to create new and interesting contours and forms. At the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900, the manufactory enjoyed renewed success with its presentation of works designed exclusively in the Art Nouveau style.
From a technical point of view, the manufactory’s history in the second half of the 19th century was also characterised by a series of innovations, one of which was vacuum-sealed pouring conceived for the purpose of avoiding imperfections. Other innovations included coal-fueled firing, the adoption of a vast array of new colours, and last but not least the development of new moulding materials, such as pâte dure nouvelle or pâte Vogt-Lauth. The latter material, fired at a mere 1280°C («classic» hard clay was usually fired at 1410°C), gave rise to a host of new colours (referred to as demi-grand feu) and lended better to new styles of decoration, such as the cristallisation-effect (zinc oxide), the use of copper-based reds and flambé glazes.

The Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory took part in a number of exhibitions, including:
The Universal Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862 in London
The Universal Exhibitions of 1855 and 1867 in Paris
The Universal Exhibitions of 1871 and 1872 in London
The Universal Exhibition of 1873 in Vienna
The Universal Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia
The Universal Exhibitions of 1878, 1889 and 1900 in Paris
The Universal Exhibitions of 1903 and 1911 in Torino
The Universal Exhibition of 1913 in Ghent...


 

Bibliography

Revues :
Albis, (A. d'.), « Différences entre pâte dure et pâte tendre, grès et faïence », dans Sèvres, revue de la société des amis du musée national de céramique, 2011, n°20, p. 21 à 34.
De Liesville, (A.-R.), « Les Industries d'Art au Champ de Mars, IV La Céramique Moderne », dans L'Art Moderne à l'Exposition de 1878, Publication de la Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1879, p. 415-417.

Internet Article :
Caracul (J.), « Le génie de Louis Delachenal », dans Sciences Ouest, année 2004, 210, Gros plan, Histoire et société.[Consulté  le  25/09/2018], p. 8.  Disponible  à  l'adresse :
https://www.espace-sciences.org/sites/espace-sciences.org/files/images/sciences-ouest/numeros/so_210_la_peche.pdf

Exhibition Catalogues :
Prod'homme, (L.), Berretrot, (F.), Louis Delachenal céramiste 1897-1966, Musée de Bretagne, Rennes, Exposition du 13 mars au 31 octobre 2004.

The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue : The Industry of All Nation 1851, Londres, 1851, fig. pp. 169-172
The Illustrated catalogue of the Exhibition of Art-Industry in Dublin 1853, published with the Art Journal, Londres, 1853.
The Illustrated Catalogue of the Universal Exhibition 1862 published with the Art Journal, Londres, 1867-1868, fig. p. 211 et 248.
The Illustrated Catalogue of the Universal Exhibition 1867 published with the Art Journal, Londres, 1867-1868, fig. p. 53, 163, 214 et 223.

books :
Alcouffe, (D.), Bascou, (M.), Dion-Tanenbaum, (A.), Thiébaut, (P.), Le Arti Decorative Alle Grandi Esposizioni Universali, 1851-1900, Ed. Idealibri, Milano, 1988.
Blondel, (N.), Préaud, (T.), La manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Parcours du blanc à l’or, Sèvres, 1996.
Brunet, (M.), Préaud, (T.), Sèvres, des origines à nos jours, Éd. Office du Livre, Fribourg-Suisse, 1978.
Collectif, Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Années folles et Art déco, le renouveau, Collection "Sèvres, une histoire céramique", Éd. Courtes et Longues, 2007.
Collectif, Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Années 50 et Art déco, l'effet céramique, Collection "Sèvres, une histoire céramique", Éd. courtes et longues, 2006.
D’Albis, (A.), Traité de la porcelaine de Sèvres, Éd. Faton, Dijon, 2003.
Ducrot, (B.), Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Second Empire & IIIe République, De l’audace à la jubilation, Éd. Courtes et Longues, 2008.
Faÿ-Hallé, (A.), Mundt, (B.), La porcelaine européenne au XIXe siècle, Éd. Office du Livre, Fribourg-Suisse, 1983.
Faÿ-Hallé, (A.), Rocchisani, (C.), Trouvet, (C.), Les Vases de Sèvres, XVIIIe - XXIe siècles, éloge de la virtuosité, Éd. Faton, Dijon, 2014.
Havard, (H.), Les Arts de l’ameublement, La Céramique (Histoire), Villefranche-de-Rouergue, XIXème siècle.
Midant, (J.-P.), Sèvres, La Manufacture au XXème siècle, Michel Aveline éditeur, Paris, 1992.
Vogt, (G.), La Porcelaine, Librairies-Imprimeries Réunies, Paris, 1893.