Two very jaunty wild turkeys--plein d'esprit (they are Japanese transplants to France, after all)--appear to preen and strut against an unbroken blank ground. The only other elements of the design are tiny images of mosquitoes and a snail. The naturalistic style of the images reveal their derivation from Japanese prints. The platter is bordered by an enameled "feather" or "shell" edge, an eighteenth century touch to an otherwise Japanesque composition.

The platter comes from the famous "Service Rousseau," designed by Felix Bracquemond in 1866 and recognized now as the first significant expression of Japanism in European ceramic arts. Braquemond derived the floating image composition from the printed sketchbooks, the Manga, of Hokusai and derived many of the images from Hokusai and other Japanese masters. The influence of the pattern began with its success at the 1867 Paris exposition and subsequent inclusion in the South Kensington Museum in London (now the V&A). Its influence on English patterns was multi-faceted; its clearest English descendent is Minton's wonderful "Naturalist" pattern.

The pattern's name derives from Francois Eugene Rousseau, Parisian shop keeper and designer of art glass, who commissioned the service from Bracquemond and sold it in his Paris shop.
 

The platter lacks the familiar Creil & Montereau mark of the earliest Rousseau pieces and instead bears the oval E. Leveille mark. This would appear to date the piece after 1885 when Ernest Leveille took over Rousseau's Blvd. Haussman shop. Sources for the cut-off date on the mark seem a bit more ambiguous (our limited French may be at fault), but would seem to be no later than 1899 when Leveille moved to Rue St. Honore.

It is possible to trace our two turkeys from inspiration through production print to final platter. The original image appears in volume three of the Manga. Weisberg's indispensable Japonisme: Japanese Influence on French Art 1854-1910 (Cleveland, 1975) illustrates Bracquemond's corresponding production print which is preserved at the College of Wooster (pp.22).

Condition: There are no apparent chips or cracks. A slightly muted surface sheen seems to indicate that the surface has been altered in a way that would typically indicate repair. Examination under very bright light, however, shows no sign of covered hairlines, in-fill or in-painting. We are left with the conclusion that the piece was "sprayed" to eliminate the surface crazing typical of these pieces--and in fact, no crazing is visible. The appearance of the piece is fine.