Gilbert Valentin "Les Archanges" Vallauris Biomorphic Ceramic Vase, France, 1950s Rare.

A rare mid-century modern studio art pottery vase attributed to French ceramicist Gilbert Valentin (1928–2000) for his celebrated Vallauris workshop, Les Archanges, circa 1950s.

The vase showcases Valentin's signature free-form (forme libre) sensibility: a sculptural, asymmetrical body with a pinched, flared neck rising from a crescent-shaped shoulder and a small pedestal foot. The surface is treated as an abstract composition, pairing a heavily textured dark bronze-brown glaze above with a speckled grey-green field below, divided by an exposed band of natural buff stoneware. The grainy, hand-worked finish is characteristic of the bold, painterly ceramics that made Valentin a key figure in the postwar Vallauris renaissance — a circle that included Picasso, Braque, Prévert, and Cocteau (who became president of the Club des Archanges in 1960).

The underside bears the workshop's hallmark: the hand-painted archangel emblem above the brush-painted "Vallauris" signature.

A striking, gallery-worthy example of French mid-century studio ceramics.

Approx. dimensions: 6 in H × 4 in W. Condition: [add yours — e.g., "Excellent vintage condition, no chips, cracks, or repairs."]