Gilbert Méténier – Gourd-shaped Vase

Gilbert Méténier, Gourd-shaped Vase, circa 1917–1920, H. 14 cm, signed.

Born into a family of ceramicists, Gilbert Méténier emerged as a key figure in the French decorative arts. His work, both varied and expressive, reveals a perfect mastery of stoneware and glazes, in a constant dialogue between material and form.

This gourd-shaped vase, rare within his body of work, draws direct inspiration from the plant world, in the spirit of late Art Nouveau. Its organic silhouette appears to have been shaped by nature itself, like a mineral outgrowth or an imaginary fruit.

The magic lies also in the glazes: they flow across the surface, settle into the hollows, and stretch into supple, glossy rivulets, creating subtle plays of transparency and depth.

A piece that embodies, in itself, all the boldness and poetry of early 20th-century French ceramics.