Vintage French Ceramic Bowl by Jean Derval for Le Mûrier (circa 1960s)

French ceramic decorative bowl by Jean Derval for Le Mûrier (circa 1960s). Rectangular in shape with curved edges and stylised French coq motif hand painted in the recess. The piece bears the unmistakable painting / decorative style of the renowned, Jean Derval. The lip colour is a clay hue with white geometric markings. In good overall condition. Le Mûrier's maker's mark - a mulberry leaf - is on the bowl underside. Please enjoy the photos accompanying the listing. Upon request a video may be provided. 

About Le Mûrier: Gustave Reynaud (1915-1972) founded the pottery, Le Mûrier (Mulberry Tree), in Vallauris, France in 1955. He produced earthenware designed in conjunction with his well known brother-in-law, Jean Derval, as well as vases, wall plaques and anthropomorphic jugs. After Reynaud's death in 1972 his wife ran the pottery until 1984.  

About Jean Derval: (1925-2010) went to Vallauris, France in 1947 where he worked initially with Roger Capron and Robert Picault. Jean Derval met Picasso in 1949 in the famous Madoura workshop where he trained with the master for two years. He set up his own pottery in 1951 but occasionally worked for other potters including his brother-in-law, Gustave Reynaud (founder of Le Mûrier pottery). Derval was awarded a major prize by the Cannes International Academy of Ceramics in 1955 and other prestigious medals for his exhibitions in Europe. His work was also shown in New York and Chicago between 1956-1960. Derval won awards at several Vallauris Biennales and in 1998, he was the subject of a film made by Pierre Rémy. His skills as a graphic artist are evident in the bowls, vases and figurines he designed in the early 1950s, which often relate to religious work and to Romanesque art. Yet he was receptive to the lessons of Cubism as illustrated by the mutations of classic forms in many of his pieces. Far from ignoring the lessons of Abstraction, the decoration Derval used for vases, pitchers and bowls retained a warm friendliness sometimes mixed with highly stylised figurative motifs. His pieces are nearly always marked. They may bear the initials "JD" or the signature "Jean Derval" on one or two lines, or "Derval", painted under the glaze on the back. The signature "Jean Derval" on two lines in a square cartouche stamped in the clay and overglazed is not uncommon. Only a very few pieces are unsigned - some may bear the Le Mûrier Pottery mark (mulberry leaf). (Ref: French Pottery of the 50s by Pierre Staudenmeyer). 

Dimensions:

H 8.6 cm / 3.4"

W 18 cm / 7.1"

D 18 cm / 7.1"