A rare demi-lune Dutch sectile panel ‘The Garden of Delight’ after a design by Adolf le Compte, made by Joost Thooft & Labouchere, de Porceleyne Fles, Delft, circa 1900

colourfully depicting Renaissance figures gathered in a garden performing music before a distant river, incised JOOST THOOFT & LABOUCHERE. DELFT., A. le Comte. INV: marks,

This tableau was probably directly commissioned by Jonkheer  Mr. N. J. den Tex ( 1836-1899) for his house at the Sarphatikade 1 in Amsterdam

Comparative Literature
Jos Hilkhuijsen, Delftse Art Nouveau. Onderwijs en ontwerp van Adolf le Compte (1850-1921), Karel Sluyterman (1863-1931) en Bram Gips (1861-1943), 2001

 

Overall the plaque is in good condition. There is a repaired section to the lower right tile with an associated area of filling and over painting, as well as some flat chips to the surface along the break line. To the central figure wearing a white dress there is a small area of filling along join between two tiles. There are minor scattered chips along the edge of the plaque, probably a result of the plaque being removed from its original location. For all sales which take place on or after 1 February 2015, please note that the rate of buyer's premium for each lot (charged as a percentage of the hammer price achieved for that lot) has been revised and shall be calculated at the thresholds set out below: Buyer's premium is 25% of the hammer price up to and including £100,000; Buyer's premium is 20% of the hammer price on any amount in excess of £100, 000 up to and including £1,800,000; Buyer's premium is 12% of the hammer price on any amount in excess of £1,800,000. As stated above, the revised thresholds are effective as of 1 February 2015.
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Instead of the ‘usual’ square tiles showing a general straight cut, the sectile designer modelled tiles to the outlines of the image, a technique comparable with that of stained glass windows. The tiles for the sectile panels were produced by the so called pâte-sur-pâte technique, applying thin layers of coloured porcelain on a thicker layer of white porcelain. The tiles were usually not glazed in order for the panel to retain a natural appearance. Because of the materials used, the tiles are extremely strong and weather-proof, and excellent for outdoor use. Sometimes a glaze was added to give the tiles a more attractive surface. As the materials and the production process were relatively expensive the production of  sectile panels remained very limited. 

‘The Garden of Delight  (although not the present one) was one of the four panels – the other three being ‘The Amsterdam Urban-Virgin’, ‘Mondscheinsonate’ and ‘the Allegorie of Envy’ -  which were exhibited by the Porceleyne Fles at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and were rewarded with a gold medal for the ‘new’ technique that was used. ‘The Garden of Delight’ together with ‘Envy’ and ‘Moonshine Sonata’ was also winner of the gold medal at the first International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art  in Turin in 1902.

The present panel was originally commissioned as an over door piece in the interior (designed by Eduard Cuypers) of N.J. den Tex’s house in Amsterdam (see included interior shot from 1902, from the book: Hilkhuijsen, Delftse Art Nouveau, op. cit., p. 52). A similar version with minor variations of ‘The Garden of Delight’ – probably the one which was shown at the exhibitions of 1900 and 1902 - is in the museum collection of the Porceleyne Fles in Delft and was in the 2001 exhibition  ‘Delftse Art Nouveau, onderwijs en ontwerp 1880-1914’ at the TU Delft.