Strasbourg faience, watermelon in trompe-l'oeil, circa 1744-48

Small trompe-l'oeil terrine of oval shape with watermelon tray and its lid in Strasbourg earthenware with polychrome decoration of large fire executed with muffle fire, flowers of India and insects with branches and black roots on the display. The lid is in the form of branches and leaves in the natural.
No mark. Paul Hannong period, circa 1744-1748, 18th century.
A chip with a small crack of 2 cm on the edge of the display stand, restored grip and end of the branch taken back.
Length: 27.5 cm.
See similar model in the Badishes Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (Inv. V19084/6752).
Reproduced in the catalog of J-D Ludmann, exhibition of the Museum of Decorative Arts of the Palais Rohan in Strasbourg January-March 1975, n°98 p.59.
This watermelon is one of the first examples of trompe-l'oeil.