Design No. 8 for Knife Plate

Preparatory drawings for dessert plates, for a table service created for and presented at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris, for the Pillivuyt manufactory, in Mehun-sur-Yèvre. Sheet (each): 18 ⅞ x 13 inches. Image diameter (each): 11 inches. NOTE: In 2013 Armstrong Fine Art acquired about 30 drawings by Jules-Auguste Habert-Dys (1850-1930). Habert-Dys was commissioned by the Pillivuyt manufactory, in Mehun-sur-Yèvre, to create a homogeneous ensemble of preparatory drawings for a table service. These working drawings, which counted in the dozens at the very least, were transformed into a ceramic service, which was presented at the 1889 Parisian Exposition, to critical acclaim. At the time of our acquisition of these works of art, we collaborated on the publication of a catalog written by Dr. Gabriel P. Weisberg, professor at the University of Minnesota, MN, and focused on a few months in the career of the decorative arts master. Habert-Dys had been seeped in the rich French tradition of ceramics, working for the likes of Sèvres, the National Manufactory of porcelain. He was thus closely acquainted with artists such as Félix Bracquemond and Théodore Deck, both active for many years at Sèvres. While about half of our drawings sold, including 10 being acquired by the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, NL), a number stayed in our possession. These drawings have remained shielded from light for most of their life and retain exquisitely saturated colors. The designs are very forward thinking for their time, showing the way toward Art Nouveau. They are also attractive artistic objects, and rival in beauty actual ceramics of high quality of the late 19th century, due to their excellent condition of conservation.