322 - LONGWY Manufactory

LONGWY Manufactory After Georges BRAQUE (1882–1963), “Pelias and Neleus” — “The Metamorphoses,” 1961–1963 Polychrome and silver-glazed earthenware ball vase Signed, numbered 9/50, and inscribed “Pélias and Nélée – The Metamorphoses 1961–1963, Georges Braque, ref: 167192, Made in France, Longwy Earthenware Factory since 1788" on the base Height: 39 cm. The condition report is available upon request at the following email address: contact@neo-encheres.com Description: Founded in 1798 by Charles Régnier, the Longwy earthenware factory owes its reputation to the cloisonné glazes developed beginning in the 1870s, under the leadership of the Nothomb and later the d’Huart families. During the interwar period, the factory experienced a resurgence with Art Deco, particularly through the editions produced for the Printemps department store’s Primavera workshop. The “colonial ball”—a form created in 1931 by Maurice-Paul Chevallier—dates from this period; it was later reimagined for artist editions such as those based on works by Georges Braque or Jean Boggio. This vase is part of that tradition of limited editions based on a master’s work. It features a motif from the “Metamorphoses,” a collection of about one hundred gouaches created by Georges Braque during the final years of his life, between 1961 and 1963, intended to be published as a book. The jeweler Heger de Löwenfeld was the first to interpret these works, initially in jewelry, which was exhibited at the Louvre shortly before the painter’s death; Armand Israël then continued this series in ceramics, tapestry, sculpture, and mosaic. In Greek mythology, Pelias and Neleus are the twins of Poseidon and Tyro. A companion to Pablo Picasso in the Cubist movement, Braque thus joined Fernand Léger, Jean Lurçat, and Jean Cocteau among the painters of his generation who entrusted their work to the arts of fire and the decorative arts.