George Hoentschel was born in Paris in 1855 into a wealthy family, which enabled him to act as a patron of the arts throughout his life. He opened an interior design studio that won him major commissions from clients such as Robert de Montesquiou, Emperor Meiji Teino and Jacques Doucet.
A loyal friend of Jean Carriès, whose debts he assumed, he was one of the founders of the Carriès school, acquiring the Château de Montrivaux, near Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye, where the great Lyon ceramist spent the end of his career. After his death, Hoentschel reclaimed his studio, assisted by Emile Grittel. Grittel was Hoentschel's main collaborator in the works he produced.
The work we present was executed in 1890 at Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye, and may reveal the legacy of Jean Carriès in Hoentschel's artistic approach.