antique French faience moustiers style bird decorated hand painted soupier tureen with conical lid

Antique or vintage Moustiers style hand painted lidded tureen or soupier.
This item features design elements usually seen on pieces of Moustiers faience, especially the bird or oisseau motif, although there is no makers mark that I can find.
I am presuming that this is a piece of faience or ironstone dating from the Twentieth Century, the body has a vitreous quality indicating a high percentage of kaolin in the paste, and high temperature firing leading to a high gloss glassy finish. It is difficult to date this item precisely and it could be of an earlier period.
The decoration is applied completely by hand. This piece is polychrome, with strong cobalt blue, green and yellow with flashes of iron red applied in painterly strokes. I believe the pattern is of Chrysanthemums.
There are cartouches with vertical ribs of decoration which are lined up to match on the lid and body. The lid had two birds (probably birds of paradise) and the knob and handles are outlined in stripes of cobalt blue. One side of the bowl has a large flower in iron red whilst the other side has the same motif in blue, there are further buds, leaves and stems on both the bowl and lid.
This is a very attractive and unusual tureen with a conical shaped lid. I have not seen another similar in many years of brocanting in France.
Condition is very good, there is just one chip to the base ring where it is unglazed, and this is not visible when the tureen is placed on a surface. (see photos)
A lovely decorative addition to your shelf, dresser or hutch, and eminently useable for your dining table too. Use it for serving soups, vegetables and casseroles or even as a punch bowl!
Size approx lid diameter 18cm, height 22cm, bowl diameter 14cm, width across handles 18cm, base ring diameter 9cm




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