MITTWOCH, 4. JUNI 2025 
Puisaye, the Forgotten Laboratory of Modern Ceramics
O n 4 June, the Thierry de Maigret auction house will present a sale at Hôtel Drouot dedicated to one of the most creative centres of French ceramics at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries: Puisaye.
By the late 19th century, this region had become a meeting ground for visionary artists, potters, and sculptors who elevated stoneware—once used solely for utilitarian objects—to the realm of fine art. Puisaye emerged as a true laboratory of forms, textures, and glazes, under the influence of figures such as Jean Carriès. Around thirty lots in the sale will be devoted to his work, including Frog Arching Its Back (lot 333) and Frog with Rabbit Ears (lot 334).
Student at the École des Beaux-Arts, Carriès refined his technique under the guidance of renowned masters such as Augustin Dumont and Lehmann. Under their tutelage, he developed a distinctive sculptural language, rich in texture and expressive truth. In 1888, he discovered in this land the ideal place to devote himself fully to ceramics, creating unique pieces — vases, bottles, flasks — with unusual forms and dazzling glaze effects.
Eugène Lion will also be prominently featured, with over 170 pieces. He served as a key intermediary between the creative vision of Jean Carriès — to whom he introduced centuries-old utilitarian pottery techniques — and local artisanal practices. His works reflect their close collaboration, marked by a spirit of experimentation and an aesthetic synthesis of Carriès’ Japonist influence and the traditional heritage of Puisaye stoneware.
Together, the artists featured in the sale embody a unique moment in the history of decorative arts — at the crossroads of Japonism, Art Nouveau, and the early stirrings of abstraction in material. These pieces reveal a distinctive body of work rooted in regional history and its particular aesthetic, blending rusticity with refinement.
Student at the École des Beaux-Arts, Carriès refined his technique under the guidance of renowned masters such as Augustin Dumont and Lehmann. Under their tutelage, he developed a distinctive sculptural language, rich in texture and expressive truth. In 1888, he discovered in this land the ideal place to devote himself fully to ceramics, creating unique pieces — vases, bottles, flasks — with unusual forms and dazzling glaze effects.
Comprising over 500 pieces, each lot in this collection reflects the legacy of an age-old craft and the spirit of pioneering modernity. Previously unseen, it brings together works by major ceramic artists such as Paul Jeanneney and Pierre-Adrien Dalpayrat.
Eugène Lion will also be prominently featured, with over 170 pieces. He served as a key intermediary between the creative vision of Jean Carriès — to whom he introduced centuries-old utilitarian pottery techniques — and local artisanal practices. His works reflect their close collaboration, marked by a spirit of experimentation and an aesthetic synthesis of Carriès’ Japonist influence and the traditional heritage of Puisaye stoneware.
Together, the artists featured in the sale embody a unique moment in the history of decorative arts — at the crossroads of Japonism, Art Nouveau, and the early stirrings of abstraction in material. These pieces reveal a distinctive body of work rooted in regional history and its particular aesthetic, blending rusticity with refinement.
