A Glazed Earthenware ‘Amphora’ Two-Handled Vase
By Jean-Claude Mayodon, 1950-55
Painted to depict figures of antiquity on Mount Olympus and scenes of mythology, painted with gilt artist’s monogram and SÈVRES
12 ½ in (32 cm) high, 9 in (23 cm) diameter
cf. Victor Arwas, Art Deco, 1992, p.274
Jean Mayodon (1893-1967), exh. cat., Musée Déchelette, Roanne, 1988, pp.17-21, p.26, p.28
Anne Lajoix, La Céramique en France 1925-1947, 1983, pp.106-107, pp.114-115, pp.175-176
Jean-Claude Mayodon (1893-1967) from Sèvres, was a painter, interior decorator and ceramicist. The son of a painter, Mayodon first became interested in pottery in 1912, and he and his father built a kiln in which he produced his first works. After the First World War in 1919, he began exhibiting some of his vases at the Galliéra Museum and was sufficiently encouraged by public response to devote the rest of his life to ceramics. He participated in numerous international exhibitions throughout his career, with a permanent display of his wares at the Geo. Rouard gallery.
Mayodon developed his knowledge of chemistry in the interests of his work, and also built his own ovens. His research was directed towards obtaining richer colours, which he combined with frequent and lavish use of gold (an inspiration from Persian and Far Eastern ceramics). He perfected a technique in which successive firings, each at a lower temperature than the last, were used for each colour.
Greek mythology provided Jean-Claude with his favourite subjects for decoration, though he also used other sources. His works included vases, bowls and plates as well as large-scale ceramics including large panels, fountains, monumental sculpture and swimming pools, some of which were made for the French ocean liner Normandie, an icon of Art Deco design. His ceramic works were painted in highly saturated colours usually with archaic and Hellenic images of athletes, archers and nude figures, as well as animals leaping and running. The figures on this vase are taken from ancient Greek mythology, while the shape echoes the classic amphora of ancient Greece. The signature on the base of this vase shows that it was made between 1950 and 1955.
Jean Mayodon received many important commissions and his skill allowed him to assume the artistic leadership of the Sèvres Manufactory in 1941, having been its artistic counsellor in 1934.
A bowl with similar decoration is held in the collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Other works by Jean Mayodon can be found in the Musée Ariana, the Musée national de la Céramique de Sèvres and the Keramikmuseum in Dusseldorf.
