Large Patterned Cup on Matte Blue Glaze, by Jean De Lespinasse, 1950s / 1970s

A large matte glazed blue ceramic cup made in Nice in the 1950s/1960s, signed by the artist Jean de Lespinasse (1896-1979) on the base "jdl". It features a beautiful organic decoration created by the combination of stripes with floral patterns that contrast with the matte blue background. Resisting on the Côte d'Azur during the Second World War, Jean de Lespinasse established a local artisanal business at the end of the war, and later created SOCFRA with his wife, which produced ceramics from the late 1940s. Their path would later intersect with that of Roger Capron and his wife Jacotte, from the Madoura workshops, Robert Picault, and Georges Tardieu. The ceramic workshop, located in the Cimiez district of Nice, employed about ten people (casting pieces, crafting, biscuit firing, decoration, glazing, cooking...). The raw materials used to make the biscuits, and then to glaze the pieces, were purchased in Vallauris. The ceramics were initially sold in shops on the Côte d'Azur, and later throughout France and abroad. Twice a year, the collections were presented at the Lyon fair and the Salon des Arts du Feu in Paris. The workshop also rented shops during the summer season in Sainte-Maxime (from 1958 to 1961), Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and Vallauris (which is why the name of this commune appears on some pieces), to sell its production made in Nice. The pieces generally bear the initials "jdl" as well as a number, which corresponds to the catalogue that Lespinasse and his son-in-law used when they went on tour to present the collections. The workshop's activity ceased in the early 1980s, after the founder's death. The pieces signed by the Jean de Lespinasse workshop are generally large, dynamic, and very structured.