Lot n° 189
Estimation :
4000 - 5000
EUR
Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939) - Lot 189
Alphonse Mucha (1860–1939)
Ivy and Laurel, circa 1901
Lithographed metal sheet, pair of decorative circular plates.
Signed “Mucha” within the composition, lower left on each plate. Unnumbered, no stated edition.
Dimensions:
Each plate: diameter 30 cm (12 in.)
Depth: 2 cm (0.8 in.)
Condition
Fair to good. General surface wear consistent with age and use. Scuffing and small chips on the edges of both plates, scattered light scratches, and small abrasions on the backgrounds. Localized oxidation and darkening, more pronounced on the ivy-patterned plate, which has a greenish patina along the border. Slight chips on the outer edges. The colors remain warm and distinct; both designs are fully legible.
Rarity
These sheet metal plates are extremely rare, and even rarer as a matching pair. Unlike the printed panels, of which many have survived, the metal versions were household objects: hung, handled, cleaned, and then discarded. Very few complete pairs are known to exist. Another example was sold at Poster Auctions International—a firm founded by Jack Rennert and a leading auction house for the Mucha market—under the reference PAI-LXXIII, lot 402.
Description
Rennert and Weill associate this pair with the Byzantine Heads: two profiles of young women rendered as cameos, set within pale green frames of dense foliage, on backgrounds featuring mosaic patterns. This decorative use of foliage characterizes many of the plates in the *Documents Décoratifs*, published around the same time (according to Rennert/Weill, p. 280).
The transfer of these motifs onto decorative metal plates attests to the popularity of Mucha’s work at the turn of the century and the desire to own it in every medium. Whereas the original panels were designed as paper wall decorations, the sheet-metal version brings the same imagery into the home as an object—durable, presentable, and produced for a much wider audience than the printed editions. The pair belongs to the family of allegorical female figures developed by Mucha beginning in 1897, in which each woman is identified with a plant and stands out against a mosaic background inspired by Byzantine ornamentation. Laurel and ivy form a natural pair: evergreen, emblematic, and graphically complementary in the structure of their leaves.
Originality
Period lithographed sheet metal, produced based on Mucha’s decorative panels. This is not a modern reproduction. Sold with a Certificate of Authenticity issued by N.C.A.G.
Bibliography
Rennert/Weill, 76 (var.) — Lendl/Prague, pp. 226–227 (var.) — PAI-LXXIII, 402
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