Centrepiece - with the allegory of Earth and Water

An oval, bulging bowl with the rim curving inwards. The domed surface is decorated with relief ornaments: at the short sides, there are naked female figures rising above the rim, representing the earth and water. The Earth sits among redweed, cornflowers and wheat, reaching towards a coiling lizard on the side, while the mermaid on the other side reaches for a fish. This bowl is one of the five works of art that were bought from Jules-Paul Brateau by the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts at the 1900 Paris International Exhibition (see Inv.Nos. 42,51,52,53, 57 a-b).