Maurice palissy leaf dish
Biographical information on Maurice is sketchy. We know he was the son of Pierre François Maurice and Marguerite Rabier, born on December 19, 1846 in a small rural community in the northeastern quarter of France: Vars, Haute‑Saône, Franche‑Comté.
The mid nineteenth century in France was a time of political turmoil. King Louis-Phillipe I was forced to abdicate in 1848 ending the French monarchy and leading to the establishment of the Second French Republic. Industrialization was beginning to transform the country in the larger cities though the majority of the French populace remained poor.
In this environment François Maurice entered an apprenticeship in the pottery industry. We don’t know why he left Vars at a time where most people lived and died within a few miles of there they were born. Perhaps it was the threat of war as the Franco-Prussian war was brewing. Or maybe it was pure ambition, but by 1870 he had moved to Paris and established his own workshop creating the kind of Palissy-style majolica popularized by Charles-Jean Avissaeu in Tours. We don’t know much about his workplace either aside from its location at 20 Rue de Basselins in Paris. This area had been a rural area of Charonne that had been incorporated into the city ten years earlier. From this small atelier on the outskirts of Paris came some wonderful things.
Maurice palissy frog leaf
François Maurice palissy bowl
Maurice palissy bowl
Maurice palissy bowl
His earliest work is believed to be dated to his first years in Paris, around 1870. An overview of his plaque work display recurring motifs: a distinct style of a central focus, usually a fish or some other sea creature, surrounded by smaller sea life and vegetation against a dark textured background. When filled with water as intended these bowls provide a small marine vignette inside the home. The pieces also came with holes on the reverse for hanging, His hollowware is more random though he did have certain forms he returned to again and again like the faux bois vases and the frog spout pitchers shown above.
In 1889 he exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universalle at the Dôme Central of the Palais des Industries.
1889 Paris Exhinition Universalle
Aside from his participation in the Exposition we don’t know which of his pieces were submitted or if his work was recognized by any awards. What we do know is that seven years after Universalle he died at the age of 49. For such a talented artist it’s surprising that the remainder of his life remains a cypher—a frustrating mystery to us today. We have no record of a surviving wife, children or siblings.
His work has been criticized as not having the finest glazes nor the best figural modeling compared to his contemporaries but these are small issues judged against the overall exquisite effect the pieces give.
Marks
Maurice left an impressive body of work, highly valued today. Much, but not all, of his work is signed F. Maurice with a hand drawn signature in the clay on the obverse of the piece. Unsigned pieces are usually simply attributed to the School of Paris.
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