Kostanda Alexandre Large Red Earthenware Vase From Vallauris, Polychrome Glazed With Scarified Decoration

Very large red clay vase from Vallauris, polychrome glazed with a scarified and incised floral decoration. Cloudy ochre glazes. Alexandre Kostanda was a Franco-Polish ceramist who worked in Vallauris, Biot, and Cluny before the war, then again in Vallauris from 1949. His work is refined, with a rustic appearance but great finesse, featuring floral or abstract motifs in colors close to the natural hues of the clay. This vase is a lovely example; it will be even more beautiful with a bouquet! Signed with a stylus on the reverse "a. Kostanda – Vallauris » Dimensions: Height: 53 cm Diameter at the neck: 17 cm Diameter at the widest point: 30 cm Alexandre Kostanda (1917-2007), a Polish-born ceramist of Vallauris' Golden Age, settled in Vallauris in 1929. His mother, Irène, was a decorator in Louis Giraud's workshop, which allowed Alexandre to join the workshop as an apprentice in 1936. There, he learned decoration and the craft. In 1940, he became an instructor with the "Compagnons de France" (a French guild of craftsmen) and taught ceramics in Biot. In 1944, he trained four young men who wanted to avoid forced labor in Germany (STO): André Boutaud, Louis Dangon, Slavic Paley, and Raude. The following year, they decided to transform an old, disused factory in the Yonne region of Burgundy into the Accolay ceramics factory. Returning to Vallauris in 1949 as workshop manager for Louis Giraud, he opened his own workshop in 1953. His wife and mother assisted him, particularly in creating ceramics with floral decoration. Sincerely, Philippe Verdier