China Bowl

Pickard China Bowl

C3519. Fine early 20th Century American Pickard Studio decorated porcelain bowl, using a French Limoges blank, signed by John Nessy, having semi-ovate walls sculpted with a border of scrolled acanthus leaf-forms richly reprised in gold on the interior walls, framing fruiting apple-tree branches against a colorful shaded background, reprised by two smaller branches trailing opposing sides of the rim against a divided ground shading from dark-brown to light-yellow, and finished with gold lapping the rim and banded around a low waisted foot.

The artist, John Nessy, was born in Prague, Bohemia in 1855, but did not emigrate into the United States until he was 40 years old in 1895. Nevertheless, he made the most of his opportunity in America, working as a china-painter for the prestigious Pickard Studios in Chicago from 1898 to 1918. He specialized in naturalistic depictions of fruit, flowers and nuts.

The apple-tree branches are realistically rendered with depth and perspective. Large golden-yellow pomes ripen to burnt-orange, accompanied by serrate pointed oval leaves of light to dark-green; borne on dark-brown stems.

Attributed to the decoration of John Nessy working for Pickard Studios in Chicago, Illinois, c. 1903-1905, using a blank made by Tressemanes and Vogt in Limoges, France, after 1892. The bottom surface has an underglaze printed dark-green maker trademark accompanied by an overglaze light-brown colored decorator trademark. The maker mark consists of the abbreviated manufacturer name, “T & V,” boxed above a county-of-origin marking incorporating the city location, "Limoges//France," which, in turn, overlies a design registry indication, “DEPOSE.” The decorator trademark is composed of two concentric circles, the inner circle containing "Pickard" centered between the initials "w" and "a," and in between the two circles are the words "hand painted" centered above "China." The artist initials appear on the interior in red, “JN.” Good overall condition. Measures 4 ½" tall and 9 ¼" diameter. $395.00
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