Handmade apothecary jars and objects on request

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our apothecary jars and tableware

The Almaviva studio can manufacture collections of apothecary jars: albarello with cylindrical shape that once was used to store dried herbs, chevrette with handle and beak for pouring syrups, theriac pot, etc. Our replicas of apothecary jars are made on a potter’s wheel, fired a first time, and hand-glazed. The decorations are hand-painted onto the raw unbaked glaze and then fired a second time.

 

Our atelier is also commissioned to handcraft tablewares: plates, dishes, dinner-services, bowls, cups, tureens, etc.

Using original 18^th century moulds, we can also produce copies of various types of ancient pottery: tulip-shaped vase from Delft, Medici vases, candlesticks, ewers, trays, decorative artifacts, etc. The decorations are painted on demand and can be personalized with initials, coats of arms, etc.

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Custom manufacturing of Art Nouveau ceramic tiles

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our Art Nouveau tiles

The Paris-based Almaviva tile studio offers replicas of Art Nouveau ceramic tiles and murals.
These panels are made using traditional ceramic techniques employed around 1900: cloisonné technique, also called “cuerda seca“, or tubeline relief.
You can see examples of such Art Nouveau friezes and ceramic panels in our Montparnasse showroom in the centre of Paris.

Art Nouveau is an art movement that flourished in Europe between 1892 and 1914. It is characterized by the use of arabesques and curves inspired by the plant world.
Depending on the country, Art Nouveau received several denominations. In France, it is sometimes called “noodle style” or “metro style” with reference to Parisian subway entrances made in 1900 by Hector Guimard.
The French term “Art Nouveau” is also used in England. In Germany, this artistic movement is called Jugendstil, in Austria Sezessionstil, in Italy Stile Liberty, and in Spain Modernismo.
Around 1920, Art Nouveau yields to Art Deco, and straight lines replace the curved lines.
Art Nouveau is reflected in all registers of creation: painting, posters, objects, furniture, jewelry, architecture, etc. In architecture, ceramics is very present, both on façades and in interiors.

The façades are often decorated with glazed stoneware tiles. Ceramic panels Art Nouveau also decorate the interior of restaurants or pubs, or lobbies of buildings.

 

At the 1900 World’s Fair held in Paris, much emphasis is placed on Art Nouveau ceramic. At the entrance of the Alexander III bridge, on the Esplanade des Invalides, a vast palace of stucco, called French Manufactures Pavilion, presents a profusion of ceramic sculptures and friezes along a path that went from the Seine to the Invalides. Midway was built the Porte de Sèvres, a monumental gate covered with bas-reliefs in ceramics. This gate has been preserved and is now on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, just behind the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In the centre of the door, is a sculpture of a woman in Art Nouveau style representing the art of ceramic. A frieze in bas-relief is depicting the art of pottery.

The English and American Arts & crafts movement also frequently used ceramic tiles for façades and interiors. These are generally stoneware tiles with relief, and dark colours

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Handmade Islamic tiles on request

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our Islamic Art tiles

The Almaviva studio manufactures custom-designed Islamic tiles with great respect for traditional ceramic techniques.
Over 20 years of activity, we gathered thousands of images of old tiles and panels that can be a source of inspiration for new projects: Iznik tiles, Damascus murals, Isfahan and Tunisian tiles (“Qallaline”)…
Our showroom is in Montparnasse, in the centre of Paris.

Islamic tiles: the oldest glazed tiles

The Islamic world has inherited a millenary ceramic tradition. The oldest traces of the use of bricks and glazed tiles date back to antiquity. The most famous examples are the Pyramid of Saqqara (-2620 BC.) in Egypt, and the Ishtar Gate in Babylon (-580 BC). After a long oblivion, enamel rendered ​​opaque with an oxide of tin is rediscovered by the Persians in the 9^th century. This technique is then diffused throughout the Arabic-muslim world, reaching Europe by Spain, then under Moorish domination.

Each region of this large cultural area has developed an art of its own: Ottoman Iznik tiles and Damascus tiles in the Middle East, Safavid and Qajar tiles in Persia, Qallaline tiles in Tunisia, and Kashi gari tiles from Sindh and Multan in the Indian peninsula. 

The tiles manufactured in the city of Iznik since the late 15^th century are probably the most beautiful examples in the world of architectural ceramic tiles. They started ornating mosques and palaces of Constantinople when the city fell in the hands of the Ottomans Turks.

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Handmade earthenware and stoneware tiles

IMAGE GALLERY: examples of our handmade tiles

The Paris-based Almaviva studio manufactures handmade tiles that are custom reproductions of old tiles: medieval tiles, pavements of Italian majolica, azulejos inspired by Spain and Portugal, Delft or Iznik tiles, etc.
The studio is best known for producing tiles that look the same as the antique ones, but it can also produce tiles looking new, with contemporary decorations.
In our showroom located at Montparnasse in Paris, we present tiles with all sorts of patterns.

The 19^th century is characterized by the industrialization of the methods of production. Stamping the clay by hand is replaced by hydraulic presses that allow manufacturing very regular tiles. The arrival of the gas oven around 1860 allows cooking at higher temperature and the development of stoneware, stronger than earthenware and therefore frost-resistant. Finally, the decor is no longer just hand-painted, but often reproduced ​​with stencils. This is the case of Ponchon or Desvres tiles in France. These tiles are used extensively to decorate kitchen walls and backsplashes. The kitchen of the house of Claude Monet in Giverny is a famous example.

The 1890s mark a resurgence in the use of ceramics in architecture, both outside on façade, and indoor with floorings and murals (see Art Nouveau section). The Art Déco period, more sober, had a more limited use of decorated ceramic tiles. However, there are many examples of plain colour tiles with beautiful shaded enamels.

The Almaviva studio can make plain colour tiles for modern decors. Or tiles related to the past like this trompe l’oeil backsplash inspired by Portuguese azulejos, or these flowers coming from herbarium plates of the 18^th century.

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Hand-made zellige on request.

Zellige Gallery: a Moroccan ceramic art

The Paris-based Almaviva tile studio offers custom-made Moroccan Zelliges.

You can see examples of zellige in our showroom in the centre of Paris, in the Montparnasse district. 

Just as the word azulejo, the word zellige is of Arabic origin and means “small polished stone”; these 2 words share the same etymology.

Zellige designates an ornamental technique that was developed in the Maghreb since the 10^th century to imitate Roman mosaics. This art has become indissociable with the Moroccan architecture and it provides its finest examples. This art reached its apogee under the Merinid dynasty in the 14^th century and extended even to Spain and Portugal. Its manufacturing process is reminiscent of both the mosaic and marqueterie. The Alhambra in Granada still preserves some beautiful zelliges of this time, sometimes called alicatados in Spain.

The zellige: a cutting technique

Terracotta tiles are glazed with a single colour and then cut with a sharp tool in various geometric shapes: square, diamond, triangle, star, cross, and other polygons. They are then combined to form a pattern, usually geometrically complex. The edges of the sherds are beveled so that when assembled, grouting can be as thin as possible.

A second method involves scraping the enamel so that only the pattern appears in colour, as the rest of the tile remains in bare fired clay. With this technique, one can avoid the rigour of geometry and obtain curves.

 

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