Auguste Delaherche (French, 1857-1940)

Plate

glazed stoneware, incised and impressed decoration of stylized flowers and leaves, France, circa last quarter of the 19th Century 

measures approximately: 8 5/8" diameter x 3/4" H 

The son and nephew of Beauvais textile manufacturers, Auguste Delaherche had grown up in an artistic millieux. He studied at l'Ecole des Arts Decoratifs from 1877 to 1882 (taking a break 1878-79 for military service) and took courses at stained glass and metalwork studios. In the early years of his career he worked on the restoration of stained glass and became the director of a metal plating workshop for the Paris firm of Christofle. Between 1883 and 1886 Delaherche crafted affordable utilitarian stoneware objects— tobacco jars, goblets and pitchers— and decorated them with thumbprints, fluting, or incised slip at the L'Italienne factory.

In 1887, after years of working in industrial arts firms, Delaherche acquired a Paris studio and began his career as a ceramist. He concentrated on simple forms with thick drip glazes inspired by Japanese pottery, occasionally employing relief decorations or vegetal shapes. His ongoing experimentation with kiln techniques enabled him to produce remarkably subtle gradations of color and by 1904, he had achieved professional maturity with his robust shapes inspired by Oriental, Greek or rustic pottery, thus helping to usher in the era of modern studio pottery.

In 1887, Delaherche acquired the studio on rue Blomet (in the Vaugirard section of Paris) that Ernest Chaplet had operated for Haviland and embarked at last upon his career as an independent art potter. Often using clay that he brought in from the Beauvais region, Delaherche concentrated on simple forms with thick drip glazes inspired by Japanese pottery. A relief decoration of stylized flowers appeared on some of his vases and he modeled some vases and dishes in vegetal and floral shapes. Delaherche abandoned any technique whose results could not be reproduced and destroyed pots that failed to meet his exacting standards. 

Delaherche took part in the 1887 exhibition at the Union Centrale des Arts Decoratifs and in 1889 he won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle for the series of stoneware shapes, decorated with quiet, harmonious glazes.

In 1894, Delaherche relocated from Vaugirard to Armentières, a village adjacent to Beauvais, and continued to produce ceramics, gradually moving toward simpler shapes and abandoning relief decoration. 

Beginning in 1904, Delaherche threw his own pots (until then his designs had generally been thrown by others). His pieces were unique, generally small and white with aventurine or golden-brown drip glazes. He also made stoneware with glazes in earthy colors. Interested primarily in the relationship between form, color and materials, Delaherche preferred plain, robust shapes inspired by Oriental, Greek or rustic pottery. Simple forms with flowing glazes became the hallmark of his mature style and helped usher in the era of modern studio pottery. From 1910, Delaherche worked in porcelain, favoring translucence and pierced floral motifs. 

Delaherche's works are in the collections of the Musee d'Orsay, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Musee Des Arts Décoratifs, and others.