Pottery
The Apt district is a land of ochre and clay. You can find here the addresses of the potters who turn raw material into genuine and colourful art.
Apt faience
The potters of Apt are inextricably linked to the land and its history.
Local clay was used for pottery as early as Roman times. The 13th century was a particularly prolific period in the local crafts scene, with the Pont Julien workshops.
In around 1720, when royal edicts demanded that all silverware be sacrificed for the war effort, Abbott Moulin founded a faience factory for his nephews, an enterprise that was encouraged by the Lord of Castellet, the Duke of Brancas.
Original and refined thanks to its unique marbling technique, Apt faience has over the years produced a number of exceptional pieces inspired by goldsmiths. The 18th century was the golden age for Apt faience.
In the early 19th century, thirteen factories and nearly two hundred craftsmen exported all over Europe.
Tileries and terracotta workshops also flourished at this time, producing the famous tomette provençale (hexagonal floor-tiles).
The faience tradition and know-how - handed down through the centuries - still thrives in Apt. The town boasts a number of talented faience, sandstone, ceramic, porcelain and enameled lava craftsmen and artists.
Glazed pottery colours range from golden yellow to chocolate brown. In the 19th century a number of fine polychrome pieces were made.
However, Apt specializes in the "brocatelle" or marbled, mottled effect. In the 19th century Léon Sagy, followed by Joseph Bernard, invented the "flamed earth" style that was to win him first prize at the International Decorative Arts Exhibition in Paris.
The techniques used by Apt faience craftsmen include using layer-upon-layer of ochre, or using clay on a wheel and colouring it with metallic oxides.
Addresses
Apt faïence
• Atelier Benoît Rigo
Rue la République 84400 Apt
tél./fax 04 90 04 74 66
• Atelier Jean-Claude Savalli Faïencerie d'Apt
20 rue Eugène Brunel
T. 04 90 74 32 22 P. 06 62 48 00 87
• Cuisine d'Argile - Emeline Cholley
84750 Caseneuve
tél. 06 71 32 51 12
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Pottery
• Atelier Buisson Kessler (terre vernissée)
Place du Septier 84400 Apt
tél. 04 90 04 89 61
• Yves Lambeau (grès et porcelaine)
Route de St Saturnin 84400 Villars
tél. 04 90 75 50 34
• Poterie Dominique Bogino (terre vernissée)
Av. V. Hugo 84400 Apt
tél. 04 90 74 52 22
• Martine Langlade (terre vernissée)
Quartier Damazian 84490 St Saturnin lès Apt
tél. 04 90 75 48 78
http://poterie-de-st-sat.monsite.orange.fr/
• Poterie de Caseneuve (terre vernissée)
Sophie Manuelian
Bas du village 84750 Caseneuve
tél. 06 87 08 06 07
• Latifa Hasni (grès engobé)
27 avenue Jean Geoffroy 84490 St Saturnin lès Apt
tél. 04 90 76 48 91
www.latifaceramique.canalblog.com
• Martine Guimet (lave émaillée, cadrans solaires)
Av. J. Geoffroy 84490 St Saturnin lès Apt
tél. 04 90 75 45 84
http://www.martineguimet.com/
• Atelier Terres de Feu - Fanny Meissel-Pluck
Place de la Fête 84400 Rustrel
tél. 06 87 65 79 06 (ouvert en été ou sur RDV)
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