Ceramic art in Le Var
This page devoted to ceramics in the Var region introduces you to a skill that is as old as the first inhabitants of our land and still practised today in Salernes and Varages.
A flourishing industry
Ceramic art in the Var, as throughout the Mediterranean basin, first appeared 8,000 years ago, in the Neolithic period. The 1st potteries, which came into being with agriculture, animal husbandry and weaving, had both utilitarian and ritual functions (offerings to the dead).
During the Gallo-Roman period, amphorae were manufactured in Fréjus, which exported its stamp throughout the Mediterranean. Towards the 15th and 16th centuries, Fréjus was still a major centre of ceramic manufacture and the most important supplier of crockery to Marseille!
But it was from the 17th century onwards that the art of ceramics really took off in the Var, with a flourishing industry that reached its peak in the 19th century and lasted until the middle of the 20th century. Thanks to the abundance of water, the presence of deposits of pure, fine clay and vast tracts of forest where wood could be cut to fuel the kilns, a number of villages in the centre and upper Var, notably Brue-Auriac, Saint-Zacharie, Lorgues, Villecroze, Barjols, Varages and Salernes, specialised in renowned craft and industrial production: briquettes, tiles, tomettes, floor tiles, crockery, etc.
Even today, at the start of the 21st century, Salernes and Varages are renowned for their production of tiles, crockery and pottery.
Salernes terracotta
Salernes has been renowned since the early 19th century for its production of a small hexagonal red tile known as "tomette". The exceptional quality of the Salernes clay deposits - red ferruginous clay - led Salernes manufacturers to specialise in the production of this product. In 1913, 53 tile factories employed nearly 1,200 workers and produced up to sixty million pieces a year! Unfortunately, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the little hexagon, which was no longer fashionable, began to "decline" and gradually disappeared from the tiling market. In response, manufacturers began to innovate and even industrialise. New products were born from developments in their manufacturing techniques, such as "bordered" tiles with curvilinear shapes (Moorish, fleurs-de-lis), or enamelled tiles.
In 1970, the Salernes business took off again, with the Port Grimaud development in particular, whose homes were to have floors tiled with... tomettes and walls covered with 10 x 10 tiles! Producers will be delivering 3,000 m² of terracotta tiles and 1,500 m² of glazed tiles every month.
Today, around ten tile factories are still operating in Salernes. Combining tradition and expertise, they offer a wide range of high-quality, personalised products. New ranges of tiles are coming out, featuring material effects, original shapes and an increasingly sophisticated palette of colours and patterns.
Earthenware with Varages
From 1698 onwards,Varages was to become the land of earthenware thanks to Etienne Armand and Joseph Clérissy, both craftsmen, who decided to set up their factory here because there was an abundance of water in this small village - water of excellent quality! They were joined in 1720 by a number of master earthenware makers from Marseille, which was hit by the plague at the time. In 1789, Varages had 8 factories and 5 glaze mills, whose activities complemented those of the potters.
The upheavals of the Revolution, the fashion for porcelain and competition from the north sounded the death knell for luxury earthenware. Varages adapted by producing more and more utilitarian products, usually in white. The arrival of the little train from the south-east, known as the "train des pignes", saved the earthenware factories and around 1890 a second start was made with, among others, the original Battaglia. Then, thanks to electricity, the earthenware factories were mechanised.
Today, earthenware production in Varages continues, and alongside the Manufacture des Lauriers, six faience d'Art factories are showcasing quality products, reviving the magnificent productions of centuries gone by. Varages offers a wide range of products, from plain tableware in a wide range of colours to decorated tableware, lighting and decorative objects. The shapes and designs are very varied, some inspired by tradition, others more contemporary.
Some Provençal utilitarian objects in terracotta
- Bugade: washing vessel (la bugadière is the washerwoman, the laundress, the laundress)
- Daubière: enamelled earthenware vessel used to cook Provençal daube over a wood fire. It can be round, oval or of varying heights, but it always has a lid for stewing, two bucket handles and a small steam outlet located either on the lid or on a sleeve.
- Gargoulette: porous jug that refreshes the water it contains by evaporation. The narrow spout allows the jet to be directed directly down the throat, hence the expression boire à la gargoulette (to drink from a gargoyle), synonymous with boire à la régalade (to drink from a regalade).
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