These plates were purchased by my mother in Vallauris, France - where Picasso made his ceramics - in the 1940's. As children we ate off these every evening surely absorbing regular doses of lead from the glaze which has now been almost worn away completely! The fragrance of the salad dressing which no doubt contributed to the lead release, is still fixed in my senses. And somehow I think that these plates must have been the start of my ceramic 'awareness' both aesthetically - the easy flow of the slip trailed decoration - and the sense of nourishment and dining which accompanies the use of beautiful dishes.
2 comments:
The wear and tear from daily use adds to the beauty of handmade ceramics I think. How fortunate you were to have that early "training" of your senses.
Although the ceramic tradition throughout the south of France terre vernissée (slipware), I have never seen this sort of work from Vallauris before. Mary Wandrausch says that slipware dishes from Vallauris were imported into England from the 1930.
They are charming dishes. What a pity that some of the best effects in ceramics can only be got from poisonous materials!
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