During Ernest Chaplet’s work at the Vaugirard research studio established in Paris by Haviland and Company in 1882, he developed brown stoneware such as this vase, inspired by the traditional folk pottery of Normandy and by Japanese stoneware he had seen and admired at the Expositions Universelles in Paris. The chrysanthemums that encircle this vase symbolize autumn and commonly decorate Japanese ceramics, textiles, and other objects. This vase is double walled, as seen on only a few examples of Chaplet’s brown stoneware; the outside wall is decoratively pierced through the chrysanthemum flowers and leaves, demonstrating the considerable potting talents of the maker.