Sauce boat 1879

The Creil & Montereau Pottery created this Sauce Boat out of an unknown medium, during an unknown year. The object is a marriage of form and function, where the stark white porcelain is ornamented with delicate pastel flourishes. The eye is immediately drawn to the contrast between the smooth, continuous surface of the bowl and the sharp, jagged edges of the handle and base. This interplay of contrasting forms creates a dynamic tension, destabilizing our expectations of domestic objects. The scattered blue daubs, which fleck across the surface, appear almost accidental, introducing an element of chance and spontaneity. The painted ribbons and roses provide a semiotic system of signs, alluding to notions of beauty and luxury, yet they are rendered with a casualness that undermines any sense of formality. This duality suggests a playful engagement with traditional artistic values. The Sauce Boat invites us to reconsider the boundary between the decorative and the functional, challenging conventional notions of taste.