Ceramic "Deer and Doe" Planter Signed, Marked and Numbered by Charles Catteau for Keramis, Belgian Work, circa 1924

This exceptional signed ceramic planter, decorated with a frieze of deer and doe in the stylised manner characteristic of Belgian Art Deco, is a work by Charles Catteau — one of the most celebrated ceramicists of the twentieth century. Catteau served as chief designer at the Boch Frères Keramis pottery in La Louvière, Belgium, from 1906 to 1948, and during this remarkable tenure transformed the factory's output into some of the most sought-after ceramic art of the Art Deco period.

Catteau's signature approach — bold, stylised animal forms rendered in vivid polychrome enamels against grounds of craquelé glaze — became the defining aesthetic of Keramis during the interwar years. His deer motifs, among the most beloved in his vocabulary, capture the elegance and movement of these animals with an economy of line that reflects the influence of both Japanese art and the emerging geometric abstraction of the Art Deco avant-garde. This planter, signed, marked, and numbered, is a fully authenticated and documented example of his work.

Catteau's pieces have enjoyed sustained and growing appreciation among collectors of Art Deco ceramics, and signed examples in good condition command significant attention at auction and in specialist galleries worldwide. This jardinière, with its particularly fine decorative programme, represents a rare opportunity to acquire a major example of Belgian Art Deco ceramics at the highest level of craftsmanship and artistic ambition.