Bidspirit auction | [France. Vieux Paris]. Shell-Shaped Compote

[France. Vieux Paris]. Shell-Shaped Compote Dish, Vieux Paris, France, circa 1800–1820. Porcelain, polychrome overglaze hand painting, gilt, glaze. Dimensions: 26.5 × 22.5 × 5 cm. Condition: very good; a non-through crack on the foot; a network of craquelure across the glaze; minor darkening and spots in the area of the foot and on the underside (wood-fired kiln); slight wear to the gilding along the edges of the fluted rim. An oval dish on a low integral foot, fashioned in the form of a stylised shell with a wavy moulded edge and a small scroll handle. The well is decorated with an oval medallion containing a painted rural landscape in the spirit of the English school: on the bank of a pond are depicted a house with outbuildings, trees and a softly rendered sky. The wide rim is adorned with rhythmic pink-and-white radial stripes separated by fine gilt lines; the edge is accentuated by a gilt border. The vivid polychrome painting and characteristic pink décor with gilt dividers are typical of Parisian porcelain of the early 19th century. The decoration is executed in the manner of late Neoclassicism / early Empire as interpreted in Paris: a slightly rocaille ”shell” form with a scroll handle is combined with the strict rhythm of pink-and-white stripes with gilt rules along the rim and a romantic rural landscape in an oval medallion.