Eugène Collinot, Vase with Lotus Flowers On White Background, circa 1870

Large vase with lotus flowers on a white background decorated with  flowers, apple tree branches and some exotic birds perched. Created in the Collinot & Cie factory based in Boulogne (France), this vase reveals a perfect mastery for relief enamels and a real originality with its ornamental Japanese-style decor. This vase shows how important is the rich Far Eastern influence in the decorative arts of the 1860s and 1870s, particularly for artistic ceramics of the period.

Since the International Exhibition of 1862 in London, Japanese art was especially appreciated in Europe. This taste becomes stronger with the Paris World Fair in 1867 and Philadelphia in 1876, and again Paris in 1878. After the opening of Japanese ports to European trade in 1861, many drawings, prints and works of China and Japan are in demand by European and American collectors. The new Oriental influence is felt strongly in the work of another ceramist, Theodore Deck, or in the production of large manufactures such Sarreguemines, Choisy-le-Roi or Longwy.

With the influence of Japanese motifs, Collinot creates new forms. He gives a monumental character and specific density. This monumental vase borrows from Japanese art its form and the lack of prospects for its decor, its rejection of the depth and expressiveness of birds and floral patterns.

Height without the base : 80 cm