Art Nouveau female holding up cherubs in a basket within a oviod medallion, blue background with gold trim, handled, signed, 8 1/4", circa 1890, excellent.....Pâte-sur-pâte is a French term which means "paste on paste". It is a method of porcelain decoration in which a relief design is created on an unfired, unglazed body by applying successive layers of white slip (liquid clay) with a brush. The development of pâte-sur-pâte dates back to 1850 in France, at the Sevres factory. A notable maker was Marc-Louis Solon, who was born in France in 1835, perfected the technique and was for most of his working life the leading exponent of pâte-sur-pâte.In 1870 Solon fled from France and sought refuge in England, where he established contact with Mintons in Staffordshire. There was a great demand for pâte-sur-pâte and Solon was assigned an English apprentice, Frederick Alfred Rhead. There ensued a golden age of pâte-sur-pâte in Stoke-on-Trent stretching into the early years of the 20th Century.