Object Description
This is an exquisite antique French Sevres porcelain handled desk seal, circa 1880 in date.
This splendid desk seal is oval in shape and features two delightful “pate-sur-pate” vignettes depicting two angelic cherubs surrounded by flowers against an elegant Royal Blue background.
The vignettes are set within two splendid decorative gilt frames, and the stamp is vacant and can be personalised.
It is a lovely desk seal which apart from its practical use is also a very decorative piece.
Condition:
In excellent condition, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 6 x Width 3 x Depth 3
Dimensions in inches:
Height 2.4 x Width 1.2 x Depth 1.2
‘Pate-sur-pate’
(a French term meaning “paste on paste”) is a method of porcelain decoration in which a relief design is created on an unfired, unglazed body by applying successive layers of white slip (liquid clay) with a brush. The effect is somewhat similar to other types of relief decoration such as Jasperware, but as a mould is not normally used, the artist is able to achieve translucency.
To understand pate-sur-pate fully, we need to go back to France in the 1850s, and an accident that occurred at the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. They were trying to reproduce a decorative technique from a Chinese vase, but misinterpreting the vase, the experiment took them along an altogether different path from the Chinese potter. Be it luck or fate they perfected what became universally known as pate-sur-pate.
Our reference: 09736b