Antique French butter dish by Étienne Noël

A charming butter dish in a lovely green glaze and signature brown glaze around the rim of the platter and top handle of the lid. Although unsigned, this piece is attributed to the celebrated ceramist Étienne Noël (1885 - 1964) and marked beneath with the stamp from Dieulefit, a village in the south of France renowned for pottery. This piece dates from the early-twentieth century and would be a delightful way to add a touch of French country to your home and table. 

Notes on the artist: Étienne Noël was a French painter, ceramist and glassmaker. He is known as a pioneer of art ceramics in Dieulefit, France. Trained as a painter, Étienne Noël created avant-garde utilitarian pottery and glassware in the inter-war years, which was the primary source of the glass revival in France. Born in Orléans in 1885, the young Etienne Noël obtained two baccalaureates, the first in literature and philosophy in 1883, and the second in law in 1905. After graduating in law from the Académie de Paris in 1906, he was introduced to painting by Maurice Asselin, also from Orléans. After his military service, from 1908 to 1914, he lived as a painter in a studio in the 14th arrondissement.

When World War I broke out, Étienne left for the front, where he met up with Breton painter Mathurin Méheut. He transcribed scenes of the war in watercolors and his impressions in poems. He was severely wounded in the spine and lungs by shellfire in 1915. Struggling to recover, he was recognized as a war-wounded 1919, and the government offered training where Étienne chose to learn ceramics. The training took place at the "Blessés de l'atelier Lachenal" in Châtillon near Paris. 

In 1922, no longer able to paint, he moved to Dieulefit and bought the failing Louis Pignet pottery factory, which he renamed "Poterie de la route". In four years, he turned the business around. Étienne Noël took up the traditional forms of culinary pottery, but quickly sought to modernize them by introducing the Art Deco style. He presented his work at the 1937 Exposition des Arts et Techniques in Paris and was awarded a gold medal.

Étienne Noël attracted a Parisian clientele by distributing his creations at Galeries Lafayette and, in 1935, opening the Arcade gallery in the Madeleine district. His ceramics were also sold in London, North Africa and, above all, on the Côte d'Azur. He also had a store in Paris to exhibit his paintings and watercolors alongside his ceramics. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs holds two of his vases in its collection. His pieces graced the tables of the Duchess of Windsor and Sacha Guitry. He is also regularly exhibited in Lyon alongside Anne Dangar and Albert Gleizes. (Biography excerpts from art-angelux.com).