Primavera Au Printemps, Art Deco crackle glaze vase, Faiencerie Longwy, 1925

Size:  29 cm tall, 22.5 cm wide, about 10 cm deep.

Condition:  Very good condition, no chips cracks or restoration.  There are a couple of tiny surface scratches.  The glaze has run a bit in firing, and there is a tiny nick to the glaze on the foot which appears to be from removing the vase from the kiln after the glaze has fused to the kiln support.  This is all part of the making process and not untypical for this type of ware.

This vase is classic Art Deco. The main design of a nude woman with peacocks behind her is balanced on the back by a further peacock design. The vase is earthenware, fired with thick lustrous glazes, of which all but the dark blue have a distinct crackle.  On the base is the printed mark for Longwy, France, with Primavera added above.

The vase was made by the Longwy Art Pottery for the Primavera studio of the famous Parisian Department store Au Printemps.  The studio was set up in 1912 by the retailer to source goods with a "new look" which would challenge the Art Nouveau style, by then beginning to seem a bit jaded.  Artefacts were made for the studio by a variety of manufacturers, of which Longwy was one.