Zsolnay
Ophelia C0331
Inventory NumberC0331Size
14 1/2" diameterMaterial
EarthenwarePeriod
Art NouveauCountry of Origin
HungaryYear Made
c1900Status
AvailableCondition
Perfect
Description
Designed and decorated by Henrik Darilek for the Zsolnay company, this charger celebrates Shakespeare’s Ophelia in the moments before her burial (Hamlet, Act V, scene I). Ophelia lies inert, surrounded by red and purple flowers, as the unseen Laertes instructs the priest and blesses his sister:
Lay her i’ the earth:
And from her fair and unpolluted flesh
May violets spring!
The lovelorn maiden, who died by accidental or suicidal drowning, was a popular figure in Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist art, generally representing the tragedy of thwarted love. The aesthetic beauty of this piece owes not only to its brilliant draftsmanship, but also to the inventive use of metallic glazes that suggest the influence of the Nabi painter József Rippl-Rónai, who was working at Zsolnay on a commission between 1897 and 1899. Marks: stamped Zsolnay Pécs and cipher / impressed Zsolnay 470 14.
