As in all of the Liberty collection, the decoration of the fruit holder was based on the figures illustrated in Leonardo Bistolfi’s manifesto for the 1902 Turin Exposition: four female figures, all Muses, shown in all their grace and elegance. This copy, like the Three Graces Vase, refuses to adhere to conventional strictures, just as in modern ceramics. In this period at Doccia, new shapes were being experimented with. In this case it was a quadrangular silhouette with four female heads in relief on the edge. The female figure with long hair and wind-swept robes is canonical in Art Nouveau iconography.

ALZATA LIBERTY - 020 6692 00000 - h cm 27,5 - inch 10 1/2