Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century

Vintage Hubert Béquet Cobalt Blue Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Birds and Gilt Scrolled Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century

Vintage Hubert Béquet Polychrome Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Exotic Floral Decoration and Gilt Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century Vintage Hubert Béquet Polychrome Hand-Painted Ceramic Jug with Exotic Floral Decoration and Gilt Handle, Belgium, Mid-20th Century
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A striking vintage Hubert Béquet cobalt blue glazed ceramic jug with hand-painted bird and floral motifs and elaborate gilt scrolled handle. Belgium, mid-20th century. Height 28 cm.

Availability: Out of stock SKU: ANTQ0011 Category: Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Description

Hubert Béquet was one of the most distinctive voices in Belgian studio ceramics of the postwar decades, producing hand-painted earthenware of vivid character from his workshop in Quaregnon. His pieces are immediately recognisable: bold, saturated colour applied with confident brushwork, generous gilding, and sculptural handles that give his jugs and vases a theatrical presence quite unlike the restrained aesthetic of mainstream European studio pottery. Béquet pieces have developed a devoted following among collectors of mid-century European decorative ceramics, and good examples are increasingly difficult to find in the condition this one presents.

This jug is among his most arresting colourways. The body is covered in a deep, high-gloss cobalt blue — not the powdery matte blue of Delftware, but a fully saturated, mirror-bright glaze that reads almost like enamel in strong light. Against this ground, birds and floral sprays are painted in white and lighter blue, with fine gold line detailing that catches the light and gives the surface an almost jewelled quality. The handle is an elaborate scrolled construction in the Baroque manner, gilded throughout, sweeping upward and outward from the shoulder with considerable bravado.

At 28 cm tall, this is a jug that occupies a shelf with authority. The condition is good, with the gilding retaining strong coverage — a detail worth noting, as Béquet’s gold decoration is often the first element to suffer with age or heavy handling.

Height: 28 cm

Material: Glazed earthenware with gilt decoration

Condition: Good. Glaze bright. Gilding strong.

Maker: Hubert Béquet, Quaregnon, Belgium

Period: Mid-20th century

external
size chest(in.) waist(in.) hips(in.)
XS 34-36 27-29 34.5-36.5
S 36-38 29-31 36.5-38.5
M 38-40 31-33 38.5-40.5
L 40-42 33-36 40.5-43.5
XL 42-45 36-40 43.5-47.5
XXL 45-48 40-44 47.5-51.5