As much as the strength of porcelain is celebrated, the wrong trajectory as a piece falls out of an artist’s hand can still yield broken shards. A natural hazard of life at the Herend manufactory has consequently inspired the dramatic Tesserae Tortoise (available in a limited edition of 250). Taking its name from the small pieces of stone, glass or ceramic used in mosaics, thirty-eight different Herend patterns create a mosaic-like composition on the tortoise’s shell. A crossroads of east meets west and past & present: four chinoiserie patterns anchor the center stripe of the turtle’s back while flanking the center tile featuring the Sèvres Petites Roses pattern which takes inspiration from French artistry. A medley of fruits and flowers dances around the rest of the shell. The tortoise himself is painted in the new, complementary key lime fishnet which draws out the subtle nuances of the many greens. It takes 5 different Herend artists a combined total of 19 hours to paint the entire figurine.
