Pair Of Plates By Etienne Laget

These Provençal plates by Laget are rare: one represents a woman in costume from Marseilles, the other from Draguignan.
Some small lack of original paint on the outer scallops of the trim wings (see photos).
This pair of trompe-l'oeil bookends represent books with on one side two characters in traditional Provençal costume, a man and a woman, and on the other an isolated house in an enclosure. Both pieces have the inscription Avignon under their interior.
One of the bookends has a tiny scratch under its base.

Jean-Etienne Laget, known as Étienne Laget was born in Arles in 1896. He was one of the great painters of Arles, his favorite subjects being regional: Arles women, gypsies and horses. He also painted Provence, Savoy, Alsace and the North, and illustrated many books, posters and especially the beautiful ceramics, which he decorated harmoniously.
 He worked in particular for the Henriot earthenware factory in Quimper and for the Pignol factory in Marseille.
His very recognizable style is characterized by simple patterns, a very legible drawing underlined in black line, and solid colors.
In his work on David Dellepiane, Françoise-Albane Beudon believes that Étienne Lager was inspired by the repertoire of the Arles painter Léo Lelée for the development of his figurines.
He died without his hometown in 1990 at the age of 94. The Camargue Museum in Arles has several of his works and a street in the city bears his name.

Source: Wikipedia; Marks & signatures of Provençal ceramic art / Sudarène Editions