It should be remembered that the “Rousseau” service, named after the man who commissioned its creation, the dealer and publisher Eugène Rousseau (1827-1890), was manufactured non-stop from 1866 to 1940 in Creil and Montereau earthenware. Decorated with motifs etched by Félix Bracquemond (1835-1914), it is considered to be the earliest example of Japonism in French ceramics and sparked a genuine revolution in the history of style.

It aroused the enthusiasm of collectors and art lovers such as Mallarmé, who declared that he felt obliged to “pay homage to this admirable and unique service, decorated by Bracquemond with Japanese motifs inspired by the farmyard and fishing lakes. It is the most beautiful modern crockery I have ever come across” (1871).

On this round plate, as on all the pieces in the “Rousseau” service, the decorative motifs are arranged in groups of three, with a principal subject being linked to two secondary subjects, smaller in size: here there are two turkeys, a flowered branch and a dragonfly. The design, which uses simple lines and bold colours, brings out the whiteness of the plate.

D. M.