Louis Fontinelle, Beige Glazed Crackled Earthenware Pheasant No. 181, 1920s, Earthenware

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Louis Fontinelle (1886–1964) settled in Marines in 1927, where he opened his third ceramics workshop—the one that would bring him … Read more Louis Fontinelle (1886–1964) settled in Marines in 1927, where he opened his third ceramics workshop—the one that would bring him lasting fame. It was from this time onward that he produced his principal artistic creations, notably his crackleware, a specialty he practiced for four to five years. The 1929 stock market crash and the years of economic crisis slowed consumption, and crackleware lost its appeal. Most of his subjects, in bronze or glazed ceramic, were inspired by animals or elegant women in the Art Deco style.

This pheasant perched on a stylized stepped terrace is treated according to the plastic principles of Art Deco animal sculpture: simplified volumes, elongated lines of force, and anatomical details reduced to the essentials—crest, wings, tail—without superfluous ornamentation. The length of the tail, which extends the silhouette diagonally downwards, lends the composition a horizontal dynamism characteristic of the genre. The earthenware is covered with a beige crackled glaze with a fine, tightly woven network, uniformly distributed across the entire surface—a technique typical of marine production, in which the crackling is a controlled effect, not an accident.

The piece rests on a rectangular base with stepped edges. The handwritten enameled signature "Fontinelle" is affixed to the side of the base; the background bears the inscription "France 181". This piece has an attribution mark,
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