Two early 20thc French potters: Jean Pointu and Léon Pointu
It’s spring, and here are the tulips to prove it, modelling a trio of pots by a duo of potters: Jean and Léon Pointu. Welcome to a world of refined shapes and gorgeous glazes.
At home with Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat
At home with Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat In the spotlight this month is Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat, who created this large crystalline stoneware vase. Dalpayrat (1844-1910) is an important French ceramist, whose brief but brilliant adventure in glazed stoneware helped bring about a revival in European ceramics. So when I discovered his house outside Paris is now a museum,…
Limoges porcelain gets the Loewy look
French Limoges porcelain gets the Loewy look A Bernardaud Ariès coffee cup designed by Raymond Loewy. It’s 1967, and in Limoges a small revolution is afoot, led by Pierre Bernardaud, director of Bernardaud porcelain, and Raymond Loewy, the father of industrial design. Bernardaud, Limoges specialised in high quality porcelain tableware which sold in France and…
Opulent opalescent Etling
Opulent, opalescent, Etling In the spotlight this month: a gorgeous French Etling opalescent glass bowl from around 1925. The pattern is Les Veloutes, model number 251. It has everything you’d look for in Art Deco opalescent glass – shades of milky turquoise and transparency, the sweeping sense of motion, the contrasting textures. It’s easy to see…
Twinkle, twinkle, Pierrefonds pottery
Twinkle, twinkle, Pierrefonds pottery I do love crystalline stoneware, so I was thrilled to find this exceptional Art Deco Pierrefonds pottery vase (available to buy here). The rotund shape gives it Art Deco gravitas, and the crystalline glaze is deep and scintillating. It’s a bit of a star turn, even by Pierrefonds standards. Few people use the…
Louis and Gilbert Metenier – stoneware studio pottery of the Art Deco years
Metenier – or Métenier – is an important name in pre-war French stoneware. Once popular with well-to-do homemakers of the 1920s and 1930s, pottery by Louis and his son, Gilbert Metenier is prized by collectors.
A Bitossi Piume Multicolore vase by Aldo Londi
Aldo Londi Piume multicolore vase A Bitossi Piume Multicolore vase by Aldo Londi This Italian ovoid vase simply oozes style. Tall, sleek and elegant, decorated with stylised feathers, it’s the sort of vase that would cut a dash anywhere. Fans of vintage Italian ceramics will immediately recognise it as part of the Bitossi Piume Multicolore…
French vintage designer scarves – new stock!
French vintage designer scarves – new in! Summer’s finally here, so I’ve been combining something I love – French vintage silk scarves – with something I loathe – ironing. I’ve been busy adding new stock from some of my favourite French designers, such as Jacques Fath, Jacques Heim, Balmain and Dior. Look out for Hermès…
Jacques Sagan Vallauris, France
French Vallauris pottery has a long and illustrious history. But it was Picasso who revived the French pottery town, when he began working with the Madoura pottery in 1947. In the 1950s, a host of French ceramists flocked toto Vallauris to take part in the new creative wave. They included Jaques Sagan, the author of this large and sassy abstract vase, with double sided decor. Sagan came to Vallauris in 1952, the same year as Roger Capron set up
Roger Méquinion, Art Deco ceramist
Roger Méquinion, Art Deco ceramist This splendid Art Deco charger by Roger Méquinion is a story in itself. It’s a fascinating example of the crossover between one medium (glass) and another (clay.) It’s also an example of the creativity that drove the Art Deco movement, a willingness to experiment and extend the boundaries of traditional…