Keller and Guerin Colored Plates and Bowls
1965? Keller & Guerin, Lunéville, France have a set of six plates illustrating La Fontaine fables. Each is signed "Grotti." $33 for TH and LM from Tori Owen, Ross, CA, through Ebay, February, '01. $49.99 for three from Charlotte Dailey, Texarkana, TX, through eBay, August, '11. Further plates from J. Oliva, Tarzana, CA. I now have all six and extras of LM, WL, and GA. The second copy of GA was broken in shipping. And also now a orridge bowl with cork bird illustrating TH. Signed again by Grotti. P.F.C.: Porcelaine de France. €14.95 from maconlection through Ebay, Jan., ’21.
Each plate offers both a title above the illustration and a key line below it. Each is marked KG with a crown and cartouche in gold. There is also a gold rim around the design of each plate. The plates are remarkable for their colorful illustrations. Click on any small image to see a larger version.
Keller and Guerin Colored Plates | |
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A particularly colorful young female grasshopper plays her violin while the ant in peasant's wooden shoes carries a huge seed past her. |
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A dapper fox in bow tie holds out a paw to catch the cheese he expects to fall. The crow in snappy hat and vest is holding the cheese firmly in his wing as though it were an arm. A lovely scene! |
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The rat in this rendition of LM uses a scissors to cut the lion's elaborate net, pegged to the ground in over a dozen places. The lion sits expectantly on all fours. |
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The frog here carries a parasol and wears both a vest and britches. The ox, sitting in human fashion, looks on amused with his arms crossed. |
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The sweating tortoise in TH rides a bicycle and wears a rider's cap and sneakers. The hare also rides a bicycle and has goggles above the brim of his cap. |
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The wolf in WL wears a top hat, vest, and trousers. He carries a hunter's pouch and points menacingly at the lamb, who is dressed in children's clothes. Does the lamb have a toy sailboat in is hands/paws? |
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There are also two bowls belonging to the same series. Each offers the same signed illustration as its matching plate but as a mirror opposite. From unknown sources for $10 to $15 each.
Here the gold stripe is a filigreed stripe inside the top of the bowl. The rim is also circled in gold.
Keller and Guerin Colored Bowls | |
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The rat in this rendition of LM uses a scissors to cut the lion's elaborate net, pegged to the ground in over a dozen places. The lion sits expectantly on all fours. |
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The sweating tortoise in TH rides a bicycle and wears a rider's cap and sneakers. The hare also rides a bicycle and has goggles above the brim of his cap. |
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And here is for me a new kind of bowl!
Keller and Guerin Porridge Bowl | |
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I take it that the inner bowl would be filled with hot water in order to keep a child’s porridge or oatmeal hot in the bowl. The illustration is identical with that on a Keller and Guerin bowl, and it is a mirror opposite of that on a Keller and Guerin plate. Why would this bowl not have been identified by Keller and Guerin as their product? A better illustration is coming soon! |
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