Help with dating French Art Deco

Hi! Just a quick question about a small mystery (to me anyway) on a piece of French Art Deco earthenware/ironstone.

It's a stencil painted platter 'Paradis' stamped TF Badonviller.





I know the maker is Theodore Fenal of Badonviller - infofaience gives the date of other similar stamps as 1900-1905. But stylistically this seems way later, post WWI. Since the company changed its name in 1923, it almost certainly pre dates the big 1925 Parisian exhibition which marked the birth of global Art Deco - but when did designs like this start appearing in France?

I haven't been able to find this design anywhere else on the net.

This piece is just the latest I've had when the date of the stamp seems to pre date the style of the design...so I'm hoping for a context / background for how reliable the style of the backstamp is as a means of dating, and also when Art Deco designs started to become popular in Europe. The advent of stencil techniques might have had something to do with that?

Any thoughts from wiser folks than me (ie. almost anyone!) Much appreciated

 

Design is not static, nor created in a vacuum. It evolves over time and often is only identified somewhat retrospectively. By the time of the Paris exhibition in 1925, what we know of as art deco design was already in full swing. Its roots can be traced back to the arts and crafts movement, secessionism, and even art nouveau. The Bauhaus in germany started in 1919. De Stijl was founded in 1917. Gerrit Rietveld's red and blue chair, which is widely regarded as seminal to the art deco movement, was said to be inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Charles Rennie Mackintosh was producing designs that might be considered art deco in appearance as early as the 1890s.

Your charming plate fits in to this evolution of style. While I am not a French ceramics expert, I am sure you can find French works dating back to the turn of the century that bears some resemblance to your plate. I know that in the US, there were several companies producing products with what might be considered art deco motifs in the early part of the 20th century.

 

u rock dude !!!!!!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on this. This is a good explanation for why I've found so many pieces that look 1920s - 1930s to my eye but then back stamps indicate they are much earlier.

You are right about Charles Rennie Makintosh for sure - I saw some of his work in a Museum of decorative arts in Edinburgh and wow they looked 30-40 years ahead of their time. I know that Paris was also at the forefront of design (and especially in the advent of Art Deco!) but the quality of this plate, which is a lovely design but would have been well suited to mass production, just seems like it would be a later production rather than an avant garde design. I'm not sure if that's the way to approach it, just a feeling really.

It's hard to know exactly because I can't find any info about what happened to the TF (Thoedore Fenal) brand of Badonviller after he died and Edouard took over. I still would think this piece would be likely to have been a bit later than 1905, as Art Nouveau china patterns were still hugely popular at that time and up until the start of WWI. But yes there will be some outliers...I'd love to know if Badonviller made the first push for these more minimal and graphic designs while competing amidst a plethora of vining flowers and intricate border patterns. It's entirely possible as a great deal of their production would be Art Deco in style.

Thanks so much again!