This plate is from the “Fleurs et Rubans” service, named for swirling blue ribbons and elegant flowers, was designed by French artist Félix Bracquemond. Designed and produced in the late 1870s, it revives the Rococo and anticipates Art Nouveau. The pieces are primarily plates and bowls, which show parallels with printmaking in their two-dimensional pictorial designs, while the larger form pieces such as the elegant tureen demonstrate Braquemond’s ambitions. A critical figure in French printmaking, design, and decorative arts, his initial successes at the Exposition Universelle in 1855 propelled him to the center of Parisian artistic life in the second half of the century. He was one of the first artists to become interested in Japanese prints, incorporating asymmetrical designs and naturalistic motifs into his work.

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