Antique Pickard Limoges punch bowl, Purple Grapes and Etched Gold Border, artist signed

Porcelain : Antique : French : Limoges : Pickard

 

This beautiful and early antique Pickard Studio Purple Grapes and Etched Gold Border decorated punch bowl dates 1903—1905; I count it as probably the finest piece of antique Pickard ever offered for sale in my shop. Three examples in the Pickard reference book are all signed by John Anton Coufall, and this was said to be his design; I couldn’t find his signature on the bowl, but a close examination of the detail on this bowl, compared to the pictures in the book, reveals that if this was not Coufall’s painting, it is by someone whose skill level matched or exceeded his.

Much more careful scrutiny reveals the presence of a capital letter “F” with perhaps another indecipherable letter beneath. There are half a dozen artists whose surnames began with "F" who painted at this early time period. Two superb artists, Emil Fischer and John Fuchs, painted at this early stage and both sometimes used shortened forms of their names. Another, Farrington, is not documented to have painted this design, as far as I know, but the "F" at the beginning of his full signature portrayed in the Reed book is very like the "F" on this bowl. Three perhaps lesser artists may be a possibility, but if so, they were painting high above their usual game here. It is therefore possible to state that this bowl is signed, but not with any certainty to pin down the signature,

Seasoned collectors have many stories of finding signatures on pieces months or even years after purchasing them. Novice collectors find this odd; but these master porcelain artists, many trained in Europe, were capable of hiding their signatures quite skillfully, in tiny letters. It took me a couple of hours to find and identify this signature, and I have a fair idea of how and where to look.

The blank by the Tressemanes and Vogt firm of Limoges, France, stands a full four inches high and measures ten inches in diameter. This would have been considered a small punch bowl or centerpiece bowl. The color palette is stunning due to the very deep tones contrasted with dreamy pastels. The details are outstanding and the outer surface of the bowl is also adorned with grapes and highly detailed leaves and vines. Among Pickard studio decorated pieces, and indeed those done by the Limoges firms, it would be hard to find a more intricate gilt border design.

The bowl is in excellent condition with no chips, cracks, or repairs. I note two small blemishes that likely were manufacturer’s flaws painted over and one or two small shallow scratches of paint loss. The gilt borders show a little very light wear as does the gilt footed base. Simply a spectacular piece, in one of the most intricate gilt border embellished designs ever produced by Pickard, this bowl bears marks for the studio and for the Limoges firm mentioned above. Seller is a member of the Pickard Collectors Club.

Item ID: 1130