Ceramic designed by Charles Catteau – Alfred Enameled Earthenware Vase, 1927

Limited series of Art deco Boch Freres Keramis ceramic designed and drawn by Charles Catteau – Vase decorated with 8 Penguins, 1927

Enameled Earthenware crackle glazed egg-form vase with flaring rim and decorated with eight birds. Factory-stamped and bears model number D. 1104 and name mark “Alfred” on the bottom.

Dimensions: Height: 32 cm – 12.5 in.

Notes:

Designer Charles Catteau created in his Atelier de Fantasie at Boch Frères Keramis, Belguim.

Alfred: The original name of this vase is Alfred which is a funny hint to the penguin drawn by Alain Saint-Ogen, who is considered as the creator of the French modern strip cartoon “Zig et Puce”, as in 1925, accompanied by their penguin.

Reference: Marc Pairon’s book “Art Deco Ceramics Made in Belgium: Charles Catteau”

Artwork is not available anymore! Sold – Thank you

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Charles CATTEAU (1880-1966)

Charles Catteau, born on January 26, 1880 in Douai and died on October 20, 1966 in Nice, He was a Franco-Belgian ceramist and painter.

Born at Douai, Charles Catteau trained at the National Ceramics School in Sèvres and followed a training course at the National Porcelain Factory in the same town. In 1904, Catteau was hired by the German Nymphenburg Porcelain Factory, near Munich.

In December 1906, he moved to La Louvière with his small family and started to work for Boch Frères Keramis, a Belgian earthenware factory located in La Louvière since the 19th century. It is unclear whether Anna Boch introduced Catteau into the La Louvière factory. The two artists had known each other since Munich. Catteau immediately became a member of Anna Boch’s “Kring Der Vrienden Der Schone Kunsten” (Circle of Friends of The Fine Arts).

In 1907, he was appointed head of the Decoration Department and Workshop of Imaginative Design, where he remained until 1948.

Charles Catteau gathered a group of artists around him, what resulted in an incredible wide variety of designs. He experimented with shapes, material, glazes and textures.

Between 1920 and 1940, hundreds of designs were created, and some were produced during many years.

At the end, the top pieces made by Catteau often were produced in restricted quantity and were hotly sought after. Many of these pieces ended up in collections in France and the US and in Belgium where they were produced.

Charles Catteau retired to Nice on the French Riviera were he died in 1966.

Sources: Wikipedia and archives