https://emuseum.gardinermuseum.com/internal/media/dispatcher/7907/fullPlate with Aphrodite, Cupid and Satyrs19th CenturyOverall: 2.8 × 25.6 cm (1 1/8 × 10 1/16 in.)Tin-glazed earthenware (grand feu faience)The Pierre Karch and Mariel O'Neill-Karch Collection.Manufactured: Rouen, FranceG12.14.130Ceramics is known for its capacity to fool the eye of the beholder by imitating other materials. The plate’s ornament emulates the niello technique developed by goldsmiths and silversmiths. Known as décor à l’ocre niellé or “inlaid yellow,” this type of decoration practiced in Rouen from c. 1725-1735 is characterised by delicate arabesques painted in black or blue on an ochre ground with figures – here Aphrodite and cupid flanked by dancing satyrs – rendered in various tones of blue on a central medallion.
Difficult and time consuming to achieve, these wares were usually expensive.French Faïence14th to 18th Century European Earthenware and Stoneware[]European CeramicsFrench Earthenware - Faïence1827805094French