DECORATIVE PIC-ASSIETTE BARREL

A lovely example of Picassiette, on a small decorative barrel. Early 20th century.

Pique assiette or trencadis is a style of mosaic that incorporates ceramic shards, broken dishes and other found objects into a design. While traditional mosaics used small cubes that were relatively uniformly shaped, pique assiette or trencadis tends to use nonuniform pieces. The term pique assiette has a French origin. Some say it translates to “stolen plate” or “broken plate”. It also refers to someone who is a “scrounger” which of course fits because most pique assiette art is created with recycled or scavenged materials. Trencadis is a Catalan term that means “chopped” or “breakable”.
There is a long tradition of using broken and discarded materials to create folk art.

Circa: Early 20th Century

Origin: France

Condition: In excellent antique condition.

Dimensions: 27cm h x 21cm w x 17cm d inc handle