Barol was lucky to participate in one of the most dynamic periods of French ceramic activity. He was born in 1873 in the seaside resort of Golfe-Juan, part of the commune of Vallauris While many know Vallauris as the place where Picasso lived and made pottery (some 4,000 pieces in all), the area’s pottery-making traditions date back to Franco-Roman times. Attracted by the countryside’s 30,000-year-old clay, potters made the town their home and by 1880 there were 70 factories.

Barol’s training began with renowned master Clément Massier (1844-1917), whose family had started its pottery in 1707. Massier is most famous for the development of metallic luster glazes, which were linked to his study of late Ming (Chinese) palates and glazes. A major figure in French Art Nouveau ceramics, he gracefully incorporated various influences into his designs, especially the delicate form and content of Japonisme.

Barol spent his early years in the Massier studio when his master’s star was on the ascent (Massier won a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition of 1889). It was under his tutelage that Barol learned the art of handling metallic luster glazes.

In 1911 when Barol was 38 he founded BACS in nearby Cannes, with three members from the Massier studio. The acronym came from their surnames: Jean Barol, Marius Alexandre, Jean Carle and François Sicard. They divided their labor according to their strengths: Barol was the glaze artist, Alexandre the painter, Carle the decorator and Sicard the potter. BACS produced pottery that reflected Massier’s influence: beautiful, classically shaped pots with luster glazes that were in turn decorated with Japanese-inflected designs. The four potters constantly experimented. They discovered a way to apply an enamel glaze (again inspired by late Ming pottery) and devised firing methods that allowed them to combine the high-fired enamel cloisonné with their metallic luster glaze.

In 1917 Barol and Sicard left BACS to found another pottery in Montières-les-Amiens, north of Paris. There the two stretched their sizeable talents, producing beautiful luster glazed pots that, in their form, decoration and glazing, reflected the influence of Japonisme. Soon, using their high-fired enamel method, Barol and Sicard were also producing pieces that were decidedly more Deco in style. The Art Nouveau metallic luster vase from Terra Mare Antiques, with small handles and raised beetle, was made during this period.

In 1920 Barol returned to BACS; seven years later he went home to Vallauris, where he worked until his death, at 93. It is likely that Barol created the wading bird and the satyr vases during the late 1920s—the same time he was named Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Worker of France). These show Barol’s mastery of glazing and also his surety of hand—a new boldness that is exciting and modern.

TOP: Detail lustre glaze Clement Massier vase
Courtesy of b.b.blackbird, New York, NY