Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Clément Massier, an accomplished ceramist born into a multi-generational family of potters working in Vallauris, France in the second half of the 19th century, transcended his family’s metier. Rather than creating utilitarian objects as a means unto themselves, he used the ceramic medium as an aesthetic platform to make art. Among the many international awards earned during his lifetime, Massier was awarded a gold medal at the world’s fair, Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1889. At the Exposition, it was Massier’s ceramic glazing techniques, using turquoise metallic luster, which captured the world’s attention. Massier’s metallic luster glazes produce the dual properties of reflectivity and transparency to create iridescence. To achieve this, Massier fired his ceramics in a three-tiered process at increasingly lower temperatures. He applied the final glaze created from a metallic clay compound with a brush. When the blackened vessels had fully cooled, they were buffed until shiny to reveal his iridescent inspirations of nature. Each piece produced was a unique object revealing not only the hand of the artist but also the variable effects of temperature, natural elements and their interactive relationships. His glazes are illusory interpretations fused into fired earthenware. Conversely, the ceramic object’s solidity belies its ephemeral nature which constantly changes in light. This duality naturally inherent to this art medium is a theme that Massier echoes in his subject matter.
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Majolica
Early 1900s French Art Nouveau Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
20th Century English Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Majolica
19th Century French French Provincial Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Copper
Late 19th Century French Directoire Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Cherry
1890s French Art Nouveau Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Majolica
19th Century French Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Iron
Early 20th Century French Art Nouveau Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Majolica
Early 20th Century Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Metal
Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Brass
Late 19th Century French Art Nouveau Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Faience, Majolica, Pottery
Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Cast Stone
20th Century French Art Nouveau Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Faience
1880s French Aesthetic Movement Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic
1890s French Country Antique Clement Massier Planters and Jardinieres
Ceramic, Majolica