WEDGWOOD. CHILDREN'S GARDEN called BOUCHER GARDEN in enamelled...

WEDGWOOD. CHILDREN'S GARDEN called BOUCHER GARDEN in enamelled majolica on a tripod base with shells and windings. Three children leaning against reeds and separated by shells are brought together by a blue scarf. They support an openwork basket with a gadrooned bottom, decorated with two garlands of flowers. Intaglio marks "WEDGWOOD", "Y", and "DVW" Wedgwood, December 1868. Height. 33, Diam. 30 cm. Provenance : private collection, Angers. The success of the monumental Putti and ram's head planter after Carrier-Belleuse, presented by the Minton factory at the London World's Fair in 1866, led its rival, Wedgwood, to adapt the figures of its vase to the "Butcher's children" to create a year later this centrepiece whose quality of composition and glaze is the sign of exceptional pieces. By presenting the three-character mark, in this case "DVW", our Boucher children's bowl can be precisely dated. The first letter indicates the month of creation, the second the craftsman at the origin of the form and the third the year of realization. Although the author of this cup could not be identified, we know that it was produced around December 1868. These chubby children are set in a rich vegetal decoration composed notably of three scallops and seem to support with ease the weight of the bowl that covers them. Ten years later in Paris, Rodin, as a modeler in Carrier-Belleuse's workshop, adopted a comparable composition for the base of the Titans' basin, of which we were lucky enough to present two copies at Artigny in 2018 (10 June, lot 41) and 2019 (16 June, lot 80). Related work: Wedgwood, Majolica basin, Skinner auctionners and appraisers, Boston, 1 October 2010, n°225. Bibliography: Nicholas M. DAVES, "Majolica", Robert Hale Ldt, 1991, fig. 161.