Vallauris Oyster Plate

Elegant dark beige glazed oyster plate by Vallauris. Manufactured in 1950 ́s in the south of France.

This lovely plate can be adorned on a wall or used for oysters galore together with your friends and family for all occasions special. Or simply as an object holding your favorit jewellery. The options are all yours.

Absolutely beautiful condition.

History of Vallauris Pottery

Vallauris Golfe-Juan – “city of 100 potters” – is a tourist town on the French Riviera between Antibes and Cannes. Its name (Vallauris in Provencal) means “the golden valley.” Divided into two parts; the old centre of Vallauris, and the seaside section running from the port along the Côte d’Azur, towards Antibes.

The original pottery of Vallauris is traditional culinary ceramics likely created during the Roman era thanks to nearby clay deposits. From the 16th-century, Italian families from Genoa settled in the city after a deadly epidemic. This timeframe is the beginning of pottery activity by individual artisans. In the 17th-century, the pottery craft activity developed further becoming a significant economic driver of the city. The pottery tradition of Vallauris that continues today is born at this time. In the 19th-century, the advent of the railway helped the potters to organise commercial enterprises. They worked in large factories and exported their production. Utensils and kitchen containers become the specialty of Vallauris. However, 20th-century modernisation brings with it a decline in artisanal pottery activity in Vallauris. After WWII, Picasso gives a new impetus to the pottery of Vallauris when he chooses to settle in the city. Like a magnet, the presence of Picasso draws the arrival of artists like Jean Marais and many others.