Elegant decorative box designed by Mithé Espelt, France, circa 1960s. The piece features a hand-glazed ceramic lid resting on a simple stained wood base, exemplifying Espelt’s distinctive approach to form, color, and surface decoration.
The ceramic top is richly glazed in deep blue and embellished with raised, stylized floral and foliate motifs in soft pink and vibrant green. The sculptural relief decoration and glossy glaze create a lively interplay of texture and color, characteristic of Espelt’s work and her connection to the Vallauris ceramic tradition. The composition is both graphic and organic, balancing mid-century modern sensibilities with a poetic, decorative charm.
Bibliographie: Mithé Espelt, the discreet luxury of the everyday
Marie Thérèse Espelt, aka. Mithé Espelt (1923-2020)
Born in the town of Lunel, near Montpelier; Mithé Espelt began her career in 1943 creating ceramic buttons for haute couture collections at the Nathalie Pol and Lydia Chartier’s atelier in Paris. In 1946 she decided to return to her hometown and set up her ceramic workshop in an annex building next to the hotel de Bernis that she had inherited from her grandfather. She married the lawyer Maurice Figère, who decided to leave his career aside and follow her in her artistic work. The choice of an artistic life allow them to travel and get inspiration from other cultures, something that is palpable on her works. She made everyday objects such as jewelry boxes necklaces, mirrors and other home accessories, and never signed them, as she wanted them to remain accessible to all publics. Today Mithé’s work are recognizable by the quality of their craftmanship. Her pieces are often made with crackled gold enamels and colored glass incrustations, which were a technical challenges requesting several rounds in the kelns and hours on the work stations. Mithé Espelt worked until the year 2000. Her workshop continues to exist but is now run by her daughter, Marion de Crécy.