Ceramic Wall Mirror by Mithé Espelt (circa 1970s)

Ceramic wall mirror with purple and green glaze and stylised bird (circa 1970s) by Mithé Espelt. A delightful whimsical wall mirror decorated with a parrot perched amongst the flowers and greenery situated above the rectangular mirror. The mirror is framed with a gold crackle glaze which forms the base line of the piece as well. This piece is in good overall condition with a tiny blemish circled in the photos. The felt backing is intact and in good condition and a trademark for Espelt's works. A truly charming and stylish mirror for your home or work place - a certain conversation piece for guests. Please enjoy the many photos accompanying the piece. Upon request a video may be provided. The piece is unsigned as is the case for this artist's works.

About the artist: Mithé Espelt (1923-2020) is a French ceramic artist who was based in the Camargue, at the gates of Provence. A close friend to Frédéric Mistral (Nobel Prize in literature, 1904), her grandfather introduced her into the upper echelons of both the artistic and intellectual world. She rubbed shoulders with Jean Hugo, Jean Cocteau, Pablo Picasso, Christian Bérard and many others. At the end of her studies, she moved to Paris for two years and produced jewellery and ceramic buttons for Line Vautrin. Back in the Camargue she formed a pottery workshop. In her spare time, she received dinner guests in her house in Séte: Valentine Schlegel, her sister Andrée and her husband Jean Vilar, her neighbour François Desnoyer, Jean Hugo and Pablo Picasso. Mithé exhibited at the La Roue gallery in Vallauris in the company of the greatest ceramicists of the time. The great Emilie Decanis saw in her, one of the hopes of the new generation. In 1948, Charles Démery, the founder of the Souleiado brand, spotted her jewellery and offered to distribute it around the world. Thus for almost 40 years she designed jewellery for that label. However, at the beginning of the 1950s, she stopped signing her pieces and devoted herself to the creation of small everyday objects for women: mirrors, jewellery chests and trays. Through her work, she questioned the notions of desire, appearance and gluttony. Long attributed to François Lembo, due to the misinformation spread on the Internet, her work and the extraordinary story of her life were finally revealed in Antoine Candau’s book “Mithé Espelt, the Discreet Luxury of the Every Day.” A retrospective exhibition of her work was held in the autumn, 2020, in Paris. 

Dimensions:

H 29.5 cm / 11.6"

W 22 cm / 8.7"

D 1.5 cm / 0.6"