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Deck began his career as a stove-maker, working first in Vienna, where he produced stoves for Schönbrunn Palace, and, after 1847, in Paris. At the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1855, he was so impressed by the Minton factory's brightly colored majolica wares that he decided to produce his own. The following year, he opened a factory for "artistic faience." Inspired by the designs and colors of Turkish Iznik wares, he developed his own range of colors, including a distinctive turquoise known as "bleu Deck." Exhibiting at various international exhibition, Deck won a wide following in England and America, as well as France.Deck employed a number of noted artists to work for him, including the decorator of this plate, Emmanuel Benner, whose signature can be seen at center bottom.