LE COMTE, Adolf

(b. 1850 Geestburg, d. 1921 Den Haag)

Dutch potter. After completing polytechnic studies, Le Comte went to the arts and crafts schools at Karlsruhe and Nuremberg, followed in 1872-74 by a course at the studio for interior design in Paris. From 1877 to 1915, he was artistic director of the tile manufacturer De Porcelyne Fles in Delft. In his early years there, he borrowed patterns from the Renaissance, but his designs were rarely used by the old-fashioned company.

In 1895, he developed a new kind of ceramic, such as that was already being produced at the Haagsche Plateelbakkerij Rozenburg. He took his inspiration from Persian ceramics. Later he did designs for building ceramics, including work at Hamburg Zoo.

Tile Tableau with a Scene of Aeterna Juventas (Eternal Youth)

This tableau is built up of both painted and pressed tiles, along with some tiles and a plaque in relief. It was made especially for an international exhibition in Antwerp in 1885 where it won a gold medal. The inscriptions LABOR, REQUIES, and AETERNA JUVENTAS (work, rest, and eternal youth) and the painted decorations refer to the various stages of human life, with the Four Seasons as the background.

The tableau was made in the porcelain manufactory De Porceleijne Fles in Delft in 1884 when Adolf Le Comte was the artistic director there. Adolf Le Comte designed, and Leon Senf (1860-1940) painted the tiles. The tableau has the signatures of both artists.

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Vase with relief triangles

This biscuit porcelain vase is decorated in green and gold. On the side, it has four triangles in relief. The ornamental decoration in green is also in relief. The vase has a narrow short neck and is glazed inside.

The object was designed by Adolf Le Comte and made in the porcelain manufactory De Porceleijne Fles in Delft in c. 1900 when he was the artistic director there.

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