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Jacques Chalom des Cordes will include this plate in his forthcoming van Dongen catalogue raisonné being prepared under the sponsorship of the Wildenstein Institute.

Kees van Dongen worked with André Metthey during 1908, the year that coincided with his success at the Salon d'Automne. In 1907 van Dongen obtained a contract with Daniel-Henri Kahnweiler, giving him the opportunity to exhibit his works in Kahnweiler's gallery rue Vignon in Paris. His growing reputation led him to work closely with the Bernheim-Jeune brothers who organised a one-man exhibition in their gallery rue Richepanse from November to December 1908. Sixty-four paintings (dating from 1892 to 1902), ten watercolours, one drawing, three sculptures and nine ceramics (several plates, one dish, three vases and ceramic tiles) on which he had collaborated with Metthey were put on display for the public.

Although Kees van Dongen's name does not figure in the catalogue of the 1907 Salon d'Automne alongside the other Ecole d'Asnières collaborators, he nevertheless fits perfectly within the category of fauvist ceramicists. The purity of line, the vibrant colours and striking contrasts and the use of the plain white-grey tin-glazed ceramic ground recall his fellow artists' collaborations with Metthey at that time. In 1908, the two important female models posing for the artist were Nini from the Folies-Bergère and Anita 'la Bohémienne', either of which could be identified as the figure depicted in this plate.