Six Large Portuguese Palissy-Style Trompe l'oeil Dishes, Late 19th Century

Six Large Portuguese Palissy-Style Trompe l'oeil Dishes, Late 19th Century

applied with various amphibians and insects including lizards, snakes, large frogs, beetles, a snail, and winged insects, on a shredded moss ground, five with impressed lozenge mark for Jose A. Cunha, Portugal, Caldas Rainha, one with impressed crowned mark for M. Mafra Caldas, Portugal

diameter of largest 12 1/8 in.
31 cm

Condition Report:
Overall the dishes present well.

With some typical minor losses to fragile extremities.
One mid-size dish with small area of loss to moss.
One mid-size dish with section of snake broken into two pieces and re-stuck.
One larger dish with lizard head re-stuck at neck and a butterfly restored, small section of underside of rim restored.
One large dish with large frog re-stuck at legs.

Catalogue Note:
Portugese Palissy ware differs considerably from French examples, thanks to the work of Manuel Cipriano Gomes Mafra. Originally working as a waiter, Mafra moved to the town of Caldas da Rainha to work at the famed factory of Maria dos Cacos, which he soon took over. At Caldas, Mafra pioneered a style of Palissy ware that featured a distinctive usage of moss as a decorative bed for fish, lizards, and insects, a style quickly adopted by other Portuguese manufacturers of Palissy war.