Mithé Espelt, Mirror, ca. 1960

MITHÉ ESPELT (France, 1923–2020).
Wall mirror with birds and flowers, ca. 1960.
Polychrome and gilded glazed ceramic.
It has a small chip in the glaze and an old repair in the upper right corner.
Measurements: 27 x 23 cm.

A rectangular mirror with a triangular top, decorated with pairs of birds and floral motifs arranged symmetrically. The turquoise, deep blue, and olive green glazes stand out against the dark background, while the gold outlines frame the moon and trace the stems of the flowers. Its decoration combines the simplicity of form with the playful character that distinguishes Mithé Espelt’s small ceramic objects, designed to bring color and artistic creation into the home.

Mithé Espelt, whose real name was Marie-Thérèse Espelt, was a French ceramicist known for her mirrors, boxes, and small decorative objects made of glazed and gilded ceramic. She trained in Montpellier and, after working in Paris, established her studio in Lunel in 1946. Her work is characterized by vividly colored glazes, crackled gilding, and a repertoire of birds, flowers, and nature-inspired forms, through which she brought a personal vision to postwar French decorative arts. She rarely signed her pieces and led a low-key career, which has since been rediscovered thanks to subsequent research and publications.