A large porcelain teapot with grisaille decoration of “Brother Philippe’s Geese”.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION :

The “Brother Philippe’s Geese” motif is executed in grisaille after an engraving by Nicolas IV de Larmessin (1684–1755), itself derived from a painting by Nicolas Lancret, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession no. 2004.86). For the Larmessin engraving, see the Musée du Louvre catalogue entry, no. 6553 LR/Recto, titled Les Oies du frère Philippe.

This scene is inspired by Jean de La Fontaine’s fable Les Oyes de Frère Philippe, a tale deriving ultimately from The Decameron (Filostrato, Day IV).

While the motif is relatively common on plates, it is much rarer on shapes such as teapots.

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

For an identical decoration on a plate, see :

– F. and N. Hervouët and Y. Bruneau, La porcelaine des Compagnie des Indes à décor occidental, 1986, p. 199, fig. 9.13.

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