MJV Soudant, Antiquités, Tableaux, Mobilier & Objets d’Art, Art nouveau, Art Déco, lot 186, in Gerpinnes (Belgium), Sunday, June 18, 2023.
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Lampshade in enameled earthenware with a deep blue glaze, supporting a finely painted polychrome decoration. The composition is organized around two medallions featuring portraits, one in profile in the antique style, the other depicted in three-quarter view. They are framed by cut-leather motifs and surrounded by chimeras, interlaces, and grotesques, in a vocabulary directly inspired by the Renaissance. The blue, yellow, orange, and green tones enliven this rich composition.
The lampshade, which allows the light from the lamp to be directed downwards and softened, gradually became a distinct element, particularly during the Second Empire and at the end of the century, when lighting objects fully participated in the ornamentation of interiors.
With its deep blue glaze, the richness of its polychrome decoration, and its Neo-Renaissance ornamental vocabulary, this lampshade is a particularly representative example of the production that contributed to Auguste Jean's renown. The transposition of this historicist repertoire onto an object intended for lighting also illustrates the artist's desire to transform a utilitarian object into a true work of decorative art.
Condition: Hairline crack and chip. Traces of restoration.
Signature: Signed on the front, in white enamel: “AJ Jean”
