Rosenthal - Gilbert Portanier - Serving dish - “Alta Mira” Wall-Plate / Bowl / Serving-Dish - Porcelain - Rare XL 36cm Artist Item

Rosenthal – Gilbert Portanier
“Alta Mira” Wall Plate / Bowl / Serving Dish
Porcelain, Germany, late 20th century

A striking bowl from the celebrated Alta Mira series by Gilbert Portanier, designed for Rosenthal. These pieces exemplify Portanier’s distinctive painterly language translated into porcelain: abstracted vegetal, architectural, and symbolic forms rendered in earthy reds, blues, greens, and ochres, floating across a calm white ground.

About the artist
Gilbert Portanier (born 1926, France) is one of the most influential figures in postwar European ceramics. Trained as a painter, he became a central protagonist of the French renouveau céramique from the 1950s onward, working closely with figures such as Picasso, Miró, and Braque in Vallauris. Portanier is renowned for dissolving the boundary between painting and ceramics: his works treat ceramic surfaces as canvases, privileging gesture, colour, and narrative over traditional vessel logic.

By the 1970s and 1980s, Portanier increasingly collaborated with architectural projects and industrial manufacturers, translating his artistic vocabulary into reproducible yet uncompromising objects. His work is represented in major museum collections, including the Musée National d’Art Moderne (Centre Pompidou) and international design museums.

Alta Mira series
The Alta Mira series reflects Portanier’s fascination with Mediterranean landscapes, ancient mural traditions, and archaeological memory. The abstract motifs evoke sun, vegetation, architecture, and terrain without literal depiction, creating a visual language that feels both archaic and distinctly modern. The bold cobalt-blue border frames the composition rhythmically, reinforcing the dialogue between ornament and image.

Manufacture: Rosenthal
Founded in 1879, Rosenthal is one of Germany’s most important porcelain manufacturers, internationally recognised for its collaborations with leading artists, designers, and architects. From the mid-20th century onward, Rosenthal actively positioned porcelain as a medium for contemporary art and design, commissioning artists like Portanier to bring painterly and sculptural approaches into industrial production. The result is objects that sit at the intersection of applied art, design, and collectable sculpture.

Produced in matte porcelain, the surface absorbs light softly, enhancing the graphic clarity and tactile quality of the decoration. Designed with hanging holes on the reverse, the bowl functions equally well as a wall object or as a decorative shallow bowl.

The metal display stand shown in the photos is not included.

Details
Manufacturer: Rosenthal, Germany
Designer: Gilbert Portanier
Series: Alta Mira
Material: Porcelain, matte finish
Colour: White with multicolour decoration
Dimensions:
Height approx. 7.5 cm
Diameter approx. 36 cm
Condition: Very good vintage condition; no chips, cracks, or restorations observed

A strong, museum-quality piece for collectors of Rosenthal Studio ceramics, postmodern European design, or Gilbert Portanier’s cross-disciplinary oeuvre.

General Information

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