20185M-001

In the shade of the lemon trees Inspired by the technique of Sicilian majolica ware, this unique piece pays tribute to Sicily through its brightly colored decor evoking citrus fruit and its portrayal of Mount Etna reflected in the Mediterranean Sea. It showcases the rare and original technique of Longwy enamel on faience, named after its birthplace in France. The artist first laid out his design on the bisque background, drawing the black outline or cerne. He then filled in the motifs with a palette of 14 opaque enamel colors, creating a slight relief, before refining the details, using a brush and 5 highlighting pigments to emphasize volume, light and shade. After the successive firings, he applied a colorant to the enameled surfaces to bring out the minute “crackles” typical of this technique. Each enameled plate required 5 firings at temperatures ranging down from 1020°C to 745°C. The finely crackled ivory hour circle displays 12 baton-type enameled hour markers in orange enamel, framing orange leaf-shaped hands. The clock’s circular foot presents an orange-tinted frieze on an ivory ground with a crackled Sienna earthenware effect. This piece is powered by the caliber 17’’’ PEND mechanical movement rewound by an electric motor.