Object Description
A very rare antique French, Bernard Palissy or School of Bernard Palissy attributed majolica figural plaque with classical figures moulded in relief. The lightly potted earthenware plaque has a central figure of a semi-clad maiden playing an Aulos (twin pipe), a young putti leaning on her shoulder and watching a pan like dancing figure. The scene is set in a landscape with a tree with a raised undulating rim moulded with various putti, some with a goat interspersed with five Bacchus masks. The scene is hand painted in typical Palissy colors with a mottled brown and blue ground to the base. There was a suggestion of a signature to the neck of the maiden but this appears indistinct.
Bernard Palissy (circa 1501-1590) was an acclaimed French potter best known for his ‘rustic ware’. Following his death, his style of pottery was replicated by a school of imitators and was extremely popular during the 18th and 19th Century. Few pieces, due to the light and fragile nature of the potting, have survived today that can actually be attributed to the Palissy workshops.