HYLAND
Terrine en forme de Poisson et présentoir; Nove (Italie),
1802-1825; Manufacture Antonibon; faïence, polychromie
de grand feu; Legs Gustave Revilliod, 1890 Inv. AR 2940
Take, for instance, the 1750 platter of olives made in the
south of France. The olives are glossy, deceptively edible. Or
the intriguing soup tureen, of 1755, in the form of a bundle
of asparagus (Christopher Hyland received a replica of this
as a Christmas present). A rather more fanciful rendering
of a food is the terrine in the form of a fish (between 1802
and 1825), enchantingly yellow at fin and gills.
From ancient times onward, such mimetic representation
has been a hallmark of artistic endeavor. The faience in the
Ariana Museum are direct descendants of primitive forms
and shapes of fish, indeed, including other animals—and
vegetables and fruit—that are found in early graves and
pyramids: viands for the afterlife, a common cultural affinity,
from China to Egypt. One could argue that such early
representations and those of the 18th century are part of
