Mid-Century French Ceramic Large Plate

Mid-century French ceramic large plate by Jean Gerbino – Vallauris – 1950s. Marbled and mixed earthenware technic. Engraved under the base. Circa 1950. Unique piece.

Born into a family of Sicilian potters, Jean Gerbino worked in a factory from the age of ten. In 1902, he arrived in France and worked as a turner for the well-known Vallauris family of ceramists, the Massiers.

Naturalised as a Frenchman, he then undertook research into a very special and original mosaic process for his ceramics, which took him some fifteen years of work to develop the final "terres mosaïques". He won the Grand Prix de Paris in 1931 and was regularly awarded prizes at numerous exhibitions.

Gerbino's technique of "nériage", developed by Chinese potters between the 5th and 7th centuries, was used until the Song period (11th and 18th centuries). This ceramic technique was also used in Egypt, China and by the Romans.

Marbled earthenware is also called mixed earthenware or nériage (or porphyry and agate earthenware depending on the factory).

The particular process known as "Gerbino" combines different mosaic and neriage (mixture of coloured earthenware) techniques. The earthenware clays are coloured in the mass by oxides. These clays are assembled flat to form designs. The plates are shaped in moulds.