A special feature of the Bohemian manufacturer Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel are vessels made of their patented material called “ivory porcelain”. The portrait-vases with their depictions of female faces in different contexts were completely en-vogue with the contemporary taste of French Art Nouveau.
The helmet that the lady is wearing on this vase is decorated with the Gallic cockrel. Proud and battle-ready this animal symbolizes France and thus, the belligerent warrioress can be easily recognized as an allegory of France. Her splendid armour is artfully glazed and elaborately decorated with relief-like applications. The ornamentation on the helmet and the butterfly is particularly finely executed.
The sober back of the vase symbolizes the sea with its blue tones. A delicate gold line indicates the horizon line where the setting sun once again quotes France, the country to the west.
Nikolaus Kannh\u00e4user designed the Allegory of France around 1902-1903, which is part of a series of allegories of other nations. Among them are Germany, Russia and Austria, and these warlike depictions can certainly be seen as a symbol of the growing chauvinism of the European great powers in the period around 1900.
The vase is marked with “AMPHORA” in the ellipse.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Vase “Allegory France”, Amphora-Werke, Riessner Stellmacher & Kessel in Turn-Templitz, around 1901, marked on the bottom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14054,"template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[386],"product_tag":[1215],"class_list":{"0":"post-13702","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-art-nouveau","7":"product_tag-patriotism","9":"first","10":"outofstock","11":"shipping-taxable","12":"purchasable","13":"product-type-simple"},"yoast_head":"\n