Terraco - Plaquette - Our Lady of Den Bosch, burgundy and steel-blue high relief • ca. 1930–1960 - Earthenware

In rich relief, Mary wears the cone-shaped ceremonial mantle in which the Bossche grace image is dressed, burgundy with vines. This Terraco (attrib.) from Beesel shows the Sweet Our Lady of Den Bosch, 37 cm high, with crown, scepter and Child perched high, shaped from clay. The glaze runs from burgundy via cream and ochre to steel blue. On the wall she reads from afar as one warm tableau.

Description:
Mary stands facing forward, with crown, veil and scepter and the crowned Child on the left arm. In the mantle lie vines, rosettes and a beaded necklace in relief; at the bottom a panel with two animals. Along the steel-blue mantle edge is relief with O.L. Vrouwe en Bosch. The oak-wood Our Lady in St. Jan was found around 1380 and returned to Den Bosch in 1853 after more than two centuries in Brussels. The reverse side is hollow and shows the red clay.

About the maker:
Terraco, also Atelier St. Joris, began in 1937 as the art department of Steenfabriek St. Joris in Beesel, under director Herman Driessen. It worked with clay from Brunsum and German stoneware, in molds and on the potter’s wheel, and until the fifties mainly produced religious objects.

In the interior:
On a light wall, in the afternoon sun, the steel blue catches the light and the burgundy keeps the mantle warm.

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Condition:
Good, with a few flakes. Upper right of the crown and mantle edge a piece of glaze and clay has broken off, about 1.5 cm, where the red body is visible. Bottom-right corner: a flake of a few millimeters. Along the edges a few small chipping spots. The glaze has run along the lower edge and back, production-related. See the images.

At a glance:
Material: earthenware of red clay, relief-formed and multicolored glazed; backside hollow and unglazed
Dimensions and weight: h 37 x w 26 x d 4 cm, 3.1 kg
Brand: without factory mark; attributed to form, technique and decoration, see Description and sources
Dating: ca. 1930–1960
Provenance: from a religious private collection

Description and sources:
Attributed to Terraco (Atelier St. Joris), Beesel. Grounds: the Dutch-language inscription, the Den Bosch subject and the combination of red-firing body and thick, flowing glaze on the front, which closely matches Southern Dutch work. The absence of a blind stamp (Beesel, Terraco or Draak, which Atelier St. Joris usually used) is not unusual for religious souvenirs or anonymous monastic works from the mid-twentieth century. Source: Kunstveiling.nl, artist page Terraco, formerly St. Joris.

Shipping:
Professionally packaged in a sturdy box with cushioning material, for fragile objects a double box. Always insured with Track and Trace. More than 1,100 reviews from previous buyers; see the feedback.