Vase c. 20th century

Charles Chatteaux made this vase, we don't know when, out of glazed stoneware. Imagine Chatteaux in his studio, turning the vase as he paints, the cobalt blue lines defining the poised deer leaping across the surface, frozen in time. It’s so arresting – how the blue pops against that crackled white ground. The hand of the artist is so present here, yet the overall effect is precise, controlled. I wonder, was he thinking of the Arts and Crafts movement? I imagine him admiring the work of William Morris, thinking about how to bring nature into the home. Was he trying to capture a fleeting moment, the grace of a deer in motion? The decoration on the top and bottom feels so stylized, while the deer has this sinuous, almost art nouveau sensibility. When you look at a piece of decorative art like this, it makes you realize how artists are always in conversation with one another, riffing on ideas across time and space. It's less about what the artist intended, and more about what the work evokes in the viewer. This vase is a reminder of the beauty and elegance that can be found in the everyday.