Plaque, 1902

Glazed stoneware
h. 67 3/4 in. (172 cm) - w. 50 in. (104 cm) - d. 3/4 in. (2 cm)
Unique piece

MARKS : Signed ‘TDoat Sèvres’ and dated ‘July 1902’

PROVENANCE : Commissioned by architect Henri Lecoeur for the outdoor patio of the house ‘La Belle Isloise’, 7 rue du Panorama, Montigny-lès-Cormeilles, France - Collection of André-Léopold Baudouin, original owner of the house - The plaque remained in the house until 2020, having subsequently been owned by Albert Pillot, André Bozo, Louis Lerondelle and Paul Dordonnat - Fauve, Paris, 24th October 2020, lot 3.

SIMILAR PIECES : This plaque is probably the most astonishing large scale creation by Doat ever recorded. He was more famous for his small vases and gourds and only made a handful of mural pieces in his fifty-year long career. It is more than twice the size of the plaque he made three years later for his own house in Sèvres. A Sèvres expert established that the execution of such a piece would have required an unusually large kiln and several months of very skilled work. This could help explain why 1902 was previously thought to have been a slightly less busy year in Doat’s production. It is also the best example of his commissioned work for architects which shows how famous he had become even before leaving the Sèvres Manufacture.