Mucha - Dish (2) - Metal - Alphonse Mucha - The Ivy and the Laurel

Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) The Ivy and The Laurel, ivy and laurel (Ivy and Laurel), circa 1901 Sheet lithographed metal, pair of circular decorative plats. Signed Mucha in the composition, lower left on each plate. Not numbered, no run of edition announced. Dimensions: Each plate: diameter 30 cm (12 in.) Depth: 2 cm (0.8 in.) Condition Fair to good. General surface wear consistent with age and use. Frictions and small edge losses on the rims of both plates, light scattered scratches and small abrasions in the backgrounds. Localized oxidation and darkening, more pronounced on the ivy plate, which shows a greenish patina on the edge. Minor impacts on the outer rims. The colors remain warm and legible; the two compositions read in full. Rarity These lithographed-tin plates are extremely rare, and even rarer when found as a matching pair. Unlike the printed panels, preserved in numbers, the metal versions were domestic objects: hung, handled, cleaned, and then discarded. Very few complete pairs are recorded. Another example has passed through Poster Auctions International, the firm founded by Jack Rennert and reference venue for the Mucha market, under reference PAI-LXXIII, lot 402. Description Rennert and Weill link this pair to the Byzantine Heads: two profiles of young girls in cameos, set in pale-green frames of lush foliage, on backgrounds with mosaic-patterned grounds. This decorative use of foliage characterizes many plates from the Decorative Documents, published at the same time (according to Rennert/Weill, p. 280). The transfer of these motifs onto decorative metal plates shows the popularity of Mucha’s work at the turn of the century and the desire to own it on all supports. Whereas the original panels were designed as paper wall décor, the tin version brings the same imagery into the domestic interior as a durable, presentable object intended for a broader audience than the printed editions. The pair belongs to the family of allegorical female figures developed by Mucha from 1897 onward, where each woman is identified with a plant and stands out against a mosaic background borrowed from Byzantine ornament. Laurel and ivy form a natural counterpart: enduring, emblematic, and graphically complementary by the structure of their leaves. Originality Period tin lithograph, produced after Mucha’s decorative panels. This is not a modern reproduction. Sold with a Certificate of Authenticity issued by N.C.A.G. Literature Rennert/Weill, 76 (var.) — Lendl/Prague, pp. 226-227 (var.) — PAI-LXXIII, 402

Estimation:€3,200

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