Circa 1730/1750, Stunning And Large Rouen Ceramic Tureen With Its Lid, Chinese Decoration

Around 1730/1750, Stunning and large Rouen ceramic tureen and its lid in Rouen earthenware, from GUILLIBAUD or CAUSSY factories, with Chinese people and pagods decoration

This item is really Museum quality, both by its very rich Chinese decoration (Chinese traditionally carrying tobacco pipes, parasol or lantern) and curious pagodas (more in the fashion of "Chinoiseries" and their free interpretation than the faithful reproduction of architectural elements from famous Cathay, which a lot of travelers and Jesuits brought in XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries fantastic and embellished descriptions of "New World" (stories and books, engraves and drawings,...)
It's funny tonote here once again that Chinese represented are reflection of an idealized society, practicing leisure activities and pleasures. It's a kind of new Society and Culture models, refined and rich, and which symbolized already questioning of European social and political order, specially in France with "Siècle des Lumières" philosophy publications, and more laterFrench Revolution.

Our ceramic item can be compared specialy to different models for its shape to several other Rouen factories ceramics:

*its 2 handles or semi-spherical sockets, in the shape of shells (one of them was also formerly broken and reglued -please check photos).
*its grip or lid in the shape of an elongated snake and whose coiled body forms a double knot
*a raised hem or pudding highlighting the upper edge of tureen.

Polychrome design is very charged and mannerist,
*with rich green braces borrowed hedges from decorative register of GUILLIBAUD, famous painter decorator and Rouen factory, who created this ornamental motif after borrow itfrom Chinese ceramics and Kakiémon decoration ("Famille Verte" period) and reinterpreting it freely.
*Blue highlights between characters, architectural and vegetal / floral elements contributing to accentuate stylisticly that has often been called "the fear of emptiness",  major point of Louis XV aesthetic

Our tureen bears a rare decorator's mark on the reverse, "WG", in green under enemail, both anonymous and known !
If I don't know this brand with a precise name of Rouen decorator, same is found on another exceptional Rouen ceramic small octagonal dish in from the same period and similar design (Chinese decoration), sold on Christies auctions the 2008 june 25th (same blue -this time, initials mark under enemail)
-These decorator's marks didn't made to allowing attribution of ceramics pieces to a master ceramist or a factory, but rather served to count the pieces leaving manufactures when they were sold and to pay craftsmen for their work.

It should be noted in both cases the exceptional quality of the decor and the perfect mastery of metal oxides constituting colors. On our tureen, red is in particular the most difficult color of cooking fire to obtain: the iron oxide used normally tends to burn on single cooking fire and turn manganese, while presenting small relief craters and cooking bubbles. If red is here in very slight over-thickness to the touch, compared to the rest of the enamel, the red stay relatively bright and is perfectly mastered and does not present this usual defect encountered on the earthenware of Rouen of great fire. This is further proof to high expertise and specific talent of our anonymous master decorator. (Thanks for our exchanges and help if you have some detailed informations about this deorator master, not found on my own research)

Condition: a few chips of enamel at the edge of the tureen, more important under the heel of the tureen bottom but not visible when tureen stand and placed (please check photos); Possible professional restoration on request.
Very beautiful glossy cover of enamelling and exceptional quality of decoration, with bright and precise colors, without cooking defect

Sizes 32cm diameter (with hadles) and 28cm (without)
Total height 24,5cm (14cm for upper part ad 10,5cm high fotr the top)