Lucien Levy-Dhurmer Three-Handled 'Alchemist' Covered Jar
Regular price
$22,500
True to its name, Alchemist Jar, this three-handled ceramic vessel fuses symbols drawn from across Eastern cultures—from Ottoman tulips to Persian pomegranates, opium poppy pods, and Japanese hollyhock leaves. The tulips, pomegranates, and seed pods recall motifs found in Near Eastern tiles, dishes, and textiles, while the hollyhock leaves—emblem of the Tokugawa clan, Japan’s final shogunate—adorned many Japanese decorative objects imported to France, from ceramics and lacquerware to samurai armor.
Item #: C-22254
Artist: Lucien Levy-Dhurmer for Clément Massier
Country: France
Circa: 1895
Dimensions: 4.75" height, 9.25" diameter.
Materials: Glazed Earthenware
Signed: painted mark 'Clement-Massier Golfe-Juan A.M' and impressed 'CLEMENT MASSIER GOLFE JUAN (A.M) L.LEVY'
Item #: C-22254
Artist: Lucien Levy-Dhurmer for Clément Massier
Country: France
Circa: 1895
Dimensions: 4.75" height, 9.25" diameter.
Materials: Glazed Earthenware
Signed: painted mark 'Clement-Massier Golfe-Juan A.M' and impressed 'CLEMENT MASSIER GOLFE JUAN (A.M) L.LEVY'
Clément Massier’s studio was in Golfe-Juan, a small community just outside of Cannes, on the southern coast of France. Massier’s pottery is known for its iridescent glazes which he called “reflets métalliques.” The process involved several steps: first, a piece was bisque-fired; next, it was glazed and re-fired; and then, it was covered in clay slip that contained metallic compounds. A final firing in a reduction kiln created the thin metal film that produced the object’s iridescent appearance. Contemporary accounts mentioned that it could take up to five firings to get the layers of iridescence needed for the desired look.
Clément Massier’s studio was in Golfe-Juan, a small community just outside of Cannes, on the southern coast of France. Massier’s pottery is known for its iridescent glazes which he called “reflets métalliques.” The process involved several steps: first, a piece was bisque-fired; next, it was glazed and re-fired; and then, it was covered in clay slip that contained metallic compounds. A final firing in a reduction kiln created the thin metal film that produced the object’s iridescent appearance. Contemporary accounts mentioned that it could take up to five firings to get the layers of iridescence needed for the desired look.
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