Trivet with majolica flower tile in carved frame – Art Nouveau style, early 20th century

Trivet with majolica flower tile in a carved frame – Art Nouveau style, early 20th century

An atmospheric trivet (dessous de plat, pot stand) with a majolica relief tile in a dark-stained, carved wooden frame. The flower tile shows large white blossoms with red centres among green leaves and buds, on a warm ochre-yellow glazed ground; the colours are applied in relief in the style of Art Nouveau / Jugendstil. Underneath, the piece stands on four turned wooden feet. The base still carries the old printed card ‘3 AIRS’ with handwritten titles: La Mascotte – Duo (Edmond Audran, 1880), La Valse Bleue (Alfred Margis, 1900) and Marche des petits Pierrots (Auguste Bosc, c. 1894). This shows that it originally contained a small music box: a so-called musical trivet, a popular French gift around 1900. The mechanism is now missing; the piece is sold as a decorative trivet.

Why we chose this piece

The tile is wonderfully painterly: thick, glossy glaze, granular greens and a fiery red heart in the flowers. Together with the carved frame and the yellowed music card listing three Parisian tunes from around 1900, this small object tells a charming story of the Belle Époque, when a pot of tea was set down on a playing trivet.

Style and interior

Lovely as a trivet on an old wooden table or sideboard, but also as a wall piece or on a bookshelf in a brocante, country or Belle Époque interior. The ochre and green tones go well with dark wood, copper and earthenware.

Dimensions: 29 x 29.5 cm, height approx. 7 cm; tile 19.5 x 19.8 cm
Material: earthenware relief tile with coloured (majolica) glazes, dark-stained carved wooden frame (oak), wooden base on four turned feet
Style: Art Nouveau / Jugendstil
Period: early 20th century (music card after 1900); the tile itself cannot be dated more precisely
Origin: France (French-language music card); maker of the tile unknown
Condition: used condition with a lovely patina. The music box mechanism is missing; the base still has the hole for the winding key (photo 4). The glaze of the tile is bright and free of cracks; along the lower edge of the tile there are a few small edge chips where the white body shows (photos 1 and 2), and there is a small black speck in the glaze near the upper flower (photo 3). Between tile and frame there is a narrow gap with some wear to the inner edge of the frame. The carving is intact, with light signs of use. The base has a knot in the wood, a red crayon mark and later replacement screws; the music card is yellowed and somewhat creased (photo 5).

Price:
€ 49

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