"My Friends" Ceramic Vase. With transfer photograph and hand painted details. German. 1882
Photographic images were adapted to a variety of supports, including ceramic and china, which were known as burned-in-porcelain or pyro-photographs . This lovely example features a picture of a young woman, perhaps her coming out or "sweet sixteen" portrait. The signatures of prominent German- and French-Jewish families, the Bloomingdales, Rothschilds, Ochs, Rosenthals and other illustrious members of her social set surround her like the spokes of a wheel. In creating such hybrid articles, photographers often worked with local artisans to create a new kind of consumer good.
