Antique Moustiers French Faience Dish

A large and most attractive Moustiers French Faience Dish with fluted edge, the puce decoration in that "a la chinoiserie" manner so popular throughout the 18th Century and here depicting two musicians, standing amidst fronds of demi-fantaisie, the one clearly Oriental, the other European. The latter, from the positioning of his feet reminding us of the importance of stance in contemporary French society, the five basic positions of today's classical ballet deriving from French court etiquette of the period. The painting delightfully naive, with a dragonfly hovering above and a moth below the two figures, all this within a stylised floral border, the edge with minor fritting as commonly found on tin glazed earthenware’s of the period. The reverse of the dish bears a monogram which purports to be that of Joseph Olerys, who together with his partner, Jean-Baptiste Laugier established a faiencerie at Moustiers in 1739, the enterprise remaining in his family throughout the eighteenth century. We have however been so far unable to verify the authenticity of this mark and is thus cataloguing the piece as 19th Century pending further research. Suggestions and comments from colleagues are most welcome and will of course be duly acknowledged. Love This Item ? ~ Why Not Make Us An Offer ? Our Warranty :- Buy It, Enjoy It, And Take Good Care Of It, Subject Only To These Conditions, We Undertake To Accept This Item Back At Any Time And To Credit The Full Original Purchase Price Against The Value Of Your Next Order. Just One Of The thousands of Warranted Antiques ~ Vintage Collectables ~ Catalogues And Antiques Reference Works For Sale At Our Main Website ~ www.applecrossantiques.com