KERAMIC 
Ear of corn vase with two cameos representing the planting and harvest of corn, white on 
green ground. Tassels in white, kernels in mat ivoryjsyellow, leaves in mat brown. 
Small vase with concentric crystallizations, dark green on light green ground. 
Fusele' vase in mat ivory, with veins of bright color. Stand in gres, mat iron wood 
color with white pearls. 
Apple vase with white crystallizations on sea green ground. Stand in gres, mat iron 
wood color. 
TAXILE DOAT 
Irene Sargent 
The grand feu porcelains of M. Taxile Doat attract 
the critical observer like the work in other branches of decor- 
ative art produced by Lalique, Thesmar, Naudot and Bra- 
teau. They show the hand of a master technician which 
has put aside the obstacles raised by a stubborn medium. 
They often display, it is true, a complicated system of decor- 
ation undertaken with a view of seeking and multiplying, 
rather than of simply meeting difficulties. Therefore, such 
pieces do not hold the admiration of the lovers of simplicity, 
but even those persons must admit their claims to future 
honor in company with the objects of their own kind which 
are now recognized as classic. For surely these modern 
ceramics have precisely the same qualities, the same limita- 
tions which characterize the faiences of Palissy and the 
porcelaines tendres of Sevres. That is, the shapes and the 
decoration of all these works are highly specialized, and 
therefore capable of appealing only to the taste of a certain 
period, of a certain class of individuals; while, on the other 
hand, their technical perfection is instantly recognized 
everywhere and alike by all classes of critics. Style and 
taste change with the coming and going of each generation. 
But the standards of skill are permanent, and such objects 
as reach the strict requirements of these standards, whether 
they owe their creation to an ancient or a modern master, 
to a man of Latin or of Germanic race, will continually ad- 
vance in both artistic and commercial value. 
The ideal of technical perfection is one which is espec- 
ially desirable to keep before those who practise the decor- 
ative and industrial arts in our own country; consequently, 
all objects approaching or fulfilling this ideal should receive 
STUDIO 171 
the most careful study from both workers and critics. 
For by such means alone may be counteracted that danger- 
ous tendency toward middle-class artistic production in 
quantity, which is so prevalent among us; the origin of 
the tendency lying in the fact that good taste is possessed 
by large numbers of almost amateur workers, who have 
not the patience and devotion, together with the fine percept- 
tion requisite to assure, after long experiment, the complete 
mastery over some special material. 
Such crude, yet ambitious attempts would seem to be 
the necessary evils attached to the present stage of devel- 
opment of the Arts and Crafts Movement in America, 
which, on the other hand, has proved to be of infinite good. 
With the view, therefore, of arresting those evils, and of 
fulfilling literally the purpose of its organization, the Boston 
Society has expressed itself, through its jury, in strong 
terms which have already gained wide publicity, and deserve 
still to be repeated. 
In direct quotation the severest paragraph of these 
strictures reads : 
"As to study, the ignorance of the simplest and most 
ordinary expression of materials on the part of a large body 
of the workers is amazing. There are certain methods of 
treating materials, forms and surfaces which had reached 
a moderate degree of perfection even in prehistoric times; 
and all similar combinations to-day are but variants of 
these methods. They are the root methods, so to speak, and 
should be known as thoroughly as are the letters of an 
alphabet. They naturally, having occurred in the past, 
have become historic design, and the name has been laid 
against them as indicating poverty of imagination, if they 
are re-used. This little dogma and reproach has frightened 
designers and they have found it easier to invent than to 
develop ideas; but such ease is gained at the expense of 
success. The designer finds himself spending hours fumb- 
ling over portions of his work of which he has no sense of 
the relative proportions, or being balked by miniature ob- 
stacles which were overcome centuries ago, and by wasting 
his energies in repeating the labors of his prehistoric an- 
;s" — Large cameo of pate sur pate hard porcelain inlaid o: 
m platinum grey ground. Frame in natural mahogany. 
