Ewer
- Designer
- Louis Majorelle, French, 1859–1926
- Date
- c.1900
- Material
- Glazed earthenware
- made in
- Lunéville, Lorraine region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Ceramics
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 135
- Dimensions
- 11 7/16 x 7 5/16 x 7 7/8 in. (29 x 18.5 x 20 cm)
- Credit Line
- Funds given by Emily Rauh Pulitzer
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 2:2001
NOTES
Asymmetrical in form, this gourd-shaped ewer is wrapped in its own leaf, secured with twisting vines that encircle the pitcher from top to bottom. Its lush surface is decorated with a thick, putty-colored glaze that enhances its organic form. This ewer is one of the few ceramic works that Louis Majorelle, the son of a cabinetmaker and ceramist, designed. Most likely, Majorelle collaborated with his friend, the sculptor Ernest Bussière, who translated Majorelle’s drawing into a three-dimensional model, which Keller & Guérin then fabricated. Majorelle even discretely formed his initials at the end of one of the twisting corkscrew vines. Only a small number of such ewers were made, each with a different glaze.
Provenance
by 1982 - c.1984
Alain Lesieutre, Paris, France [1]
c.1984 - 1995
Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Alain Lesieutre
1995 - 2000/2001
Private Collection, France, purchased at auction, Sotheby's New York, "Important Art Nouveau from the Private Collection of Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe," December 2, 1995, lot no. 560 [2]
2000/2001
Historical Design, Inc., New York, NY, purchased from private collection [3]
2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Historical Design, Inc. [4]
Notes:
[1] Lesieutre's ownership is confirmed in correspondence with Ben Macklowe of Macklowe Gallery, NY, in which he states that his parents (Lloyd and Barbara) purchased the ewer from Lesieutre in "roughly 1984." [email March 19, 2003, SLAM document files]. Additional confirmation is provided by an illustration of this ewer (2:2001) in Laurence Buffet-Challié, "The Art Nouveau Style," (New York, 1982) p. 97, fig. 195, where the credit line reads: "Louis Majorelle Vase. (Collection Alain Lesieutre, Paris)."
[2] The ewer was one of many art nouveau objects from the Macklowes' private collection sold at Sotheby's New York, "Important Art Nouveau from the Private Collection of Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe," December 2, 1995, sale 6785; the ewer is illustrated in two images.
[3] In a conversation at their gallery on March 24, 2003, with Saint Louis Art Museum curator, Cara McCarty, the owners of Historical Design, Inc. confirmed their purchase of the ewer from a private collector in France who had acquired the piece at the Macklowe auction in 1995.
[4] Minutes of the Collection Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 1, 2001.
Alain Lesieutre, Paris, France [1]
c.1984 - 1995
Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Alain Lesieutre
1995 - 2000/2001
Private Collection, France, purchased at auction, Sotheby's New York, "Important Art Nouveau from the Private Collection of Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe," December 2, 1995, lot no. 560 [2]
2000/2001
Historical Design, Inc., New York, NY, purchased from private collection [3]
2001 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Historical Design, Inc. [4]
Notes:
[1] Lesieutre's ownership is confirmed in correspondence with Ben Macklowe of Macklowe Gallery, NY, in which he states that his parents (Lloyd and Barbara) purchased the ewer from Lesieutre in "roughly 1984." [email March 19, 2003, SLAM document files]. Additional confirmation is provided by an illustration of this ewer (2:2001) in Laurence Buffet-Challié, "The Art Nouveau Style," (New York, 1982) p. 97, fig. 195, where the credit line reads: "Louis Majorelle Vase. (Collection Alain Lesieutre, Paris)."
[2] The ewer was one of many art nouveau objects from the Macklowes' private collection sold at Sotheby's New York, "Important Art Nouveau from the Private Collection of Lloyd and Barbara Macklowe," December 2, 1995, sale 6785; the ewer is illustrated in two images.
[3] In a conversation at their gallery on March 24, 2003, with Saint Louis Art Museum curator, Cara McCarty, the owners of Historical Design, Inc. confirmed their purchase of the ewer from a private collector in France who had acquired the piece at the Macklowe auction in 1995.
[4] Minutes of the Collection Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 1, 2001.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.