Vintage Ceramic Wall Mirror by Mithé Espelt, 1970s

Ceramic wall mirror with birds and flowers (circa 1970s) by Mithé Espelt. A delightful decorative piece topped with two pairs of whimsical enamel birds above and below the square mirror. The mirror is framed with a gold crackle glaze which also forms the outer frame. There are other gold highlights throughout which complement the colours and stand out from the black mat backdrop. At the top two corners you will find two cheeky decorative 'pearls' protruding like maritime antennae on a precipice guarding coastal waters. This piece is in very good overall condition. The felt backing is intact and in good condition. A truly charming and entrancing wall mirror for your home or work place - a certain conversation piece for guests. Upon request a video will be provided. Espelt did not sign her pieces with a maker's mark. About the artist : Born in 1923 in Lunel in the South of France, Mithé Espelt grew up in a family of affluent winegrowers and was very close to her grandfather who passed on his love for the arts and brought her into contact with major intellectuals and artists of the time. She rubbed shoulders with Jean Hugo, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Christian Bérard and many others. She graduated from the Beaux-Arts school in Montpellier in 1942, and then studied at the Fontcarrade school where she took a special interest in ceramics. She began by designing buttons for fashion houses in Paris, before managing the entire production of buttons and jewellery at the Lydia Chartier workshop and collaborating with Line Vautrin, amongst others. At the end of the war, she returned to her native south, opened her studio and took advantage of the growing excitement around ceramics, particularly those from the town of Vallauris. To stand out and sustain the workshop business she started designing gilded jewellery, a touch of luxury in which her creativity, the colours she used and her originality in workmanship ensured her success. A very feminine aesthetic was the hallmark of her many beautiful objects designed for the boudoir: jewel-encrusted wall mirrors, elegant hand mirrors and beguiling jewellery boxes among other things. These highly collectable pieces all featuring her signature gold crackle are considered works of art today. These works do not generally bear any signature. As a result, her opulent objects have long been misattributed to Vallauris ceramicist François Lembo. Since this confusion was clarified and a book with her works was published, Mithé Espelt's objects have skyrocketed in price. Not signing her pieces was a way of shunning recognition and fame. Her work has been the subject of significant attention recently thanks to Antoine Candau’s book, “Mithé Espelt, the Discreet Luxury of the Everyday,” which reveals their artistic significance and is becoming a mandatory guide to mid-century French ceramics. In addition, 'The World of Interiors' magazine dedicated several pages to her works in their April 2021 edition. Dimensions : H 27 cm / 10.6" W 22.5 cm / 8.9" D 2 cm / 0.8".