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About the Item
Ceramic wall mirror with birds and flowers (circa 1970s) by Mith Espelt. A delightful decorative piece topped with two pairs of whimsical enamel birds above and below the square mirror. The mirror is framed with a gold crackle glaze which also forms the outer frame. There are other gold highlights throughout which complement the colours and stand out from the black mat backdrop. At the top two corners you will find two cheeky decorative ‘pearls’ protruding like maritime antennae on a precipice guarding coastal waters. This piece is in very good overall condition. The felt backing is intact and in good condition. A truly charming and entrancing wall mirror for your home or work place – a certain conversation piece for guests. Upon request a video will be provided. Espelt did not sign her pieces with a maker’s mark.
About the artist: Born in 1923 in Lunel in the South of France, Mith Espelt grew up in a family of affluent winegrowers and was very close to her grandfather who passed on his love for the arts and brought her into contact with major intellectuals and artists of the time. She rubbed shoulders with Jean Hugo, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Christian Brard and many others. She graduated from the Beaux-Arts school in Montpellier in 1942, and then studied at the Fontcarrade school where she took a special interest in ceramics. She began by designing buttons for fashion houses in Paris, before managing the entire production of buttons and jewellery at the Lydia Chartier workshop and collaborating with Line Vautrin, amongst others. At the end of the war, she returned to her native south, opened her studio and took advantage of the growing excitement around ceramics, particularly those from the town of Vallauris. To stand out and sustain the workshop business she started designing gilded jewellery, a touch of luxury in which her creativity, the colours she used and her originality in workmanship ensured her success. A very feminine aesthetic was the hallmark of her many beautiful objects designed for the boudoir: jewel-encrusted wall mirrors, elegant hand mirrors and beguiling jewellery boxes among other things. These highly collectable pieces all featuring her signature gold crackle are considered works of art today. These works do not generally bear any signature. As a result, her opulent objects have long been misattributed to Vallauris ceramicist Franois Lembo. Since this confusion was clarified and a book with her works was published, Mith Espelt’s objects have skyrocketed in price. Not signing her pieces was a way of shunning recognition and fame. Her work has been the subject of significant attention recently thanks to Antoine Candaus book, Mith Espelt, the Discreet Luxury of the Everyday, which reveals their artistic significance and is becoming a mandatory guide to mid-century French ceramics. In addition, ‘The World of Interiors’ magazine dedicated several pages to her works in their April 2021 edition.
Dimensions:
H 27 cm / 10.6″
W 22.5 cm / 8.9″
D 2 cm / 0.8″Creator: Mith Espelt (Artist)Dimensions: Height: 10.63 in (27 cm)Width: 8.86 in (22.5 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)Materials and Techniques: Ceramic,MirrorPlace of Origin: FrancePeriod: 1970-1979Date of Manufacture: circa 1970sCondition: GoodSeller Location: London, GBReference Number: Seller: 22091stDibs: LU2811339428722Shop All Mith Espelt
Mith Espelt
Marie-Thrse Espelt, known better as Mith Espelt, was a dominant force in mid-20th-century ceramics in France. Mith is remembered for her modern ceramic wall mirrors, gilded and enameled ashtrays and other ornate objects and boxes,often featuring birds and lively colors. She preferred not to sign her pieces and, as a consequence, much of her work has been misattributed, including to French ceramist Franois Lembo.
Mith grew up in the Camargue region of France. Her fathers extensive network included 1904 Nobel Prize winner Frdric Mistral and Parisian painter and decorator Jean Hugo. Miths early introduction to a community of artists inspired her to study sculpture and drawing at the Beaux-Arts School in Montpellier in 1939.
Miths early work caught the attention of French ceramist Emilie Decanis and jewelry distributor Charles Dmery. Mith set up a ceramics workshop in the Htel de Bernis in Lunel, where she quickly garnered a reputation for her ceramic work and accessories, including mirrors, jewelry boxes and buttons. Dmery founded the Souleiado boutique, which began distributing Miths work, thus attracting a worldwide audience.
French author Antoine Candau wrote a retrospective book on Miths career titled Mith Espelt, the Discreet Luxury of the Every Day, which contributed to bringing her legacy to the forefront while shedding light on her anonymity. While Mith was respected within her inner circle, the general public is only now beginning to understand the immense talent behind her over five-decade-long career.
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