Large Dish Orming A Shell By Pol Chambost

Rare large dish in trompe l'oeil forming a shell in satin pearly enamel on white clay, giving a pearly effect.
Black satin enamelled back.
Created in the early 1950s.
Signature engraved on the back.

Pol Chambost was born in 1906 in Saint-Etienne, his artistic parents intended him to take over the family marble factory. He trained at the École des Arts Appliqués à l'Industrie in Paris but also attended evening classes at the École des ArtsDécoratifs. 26 years old, he turned to ceramics and began a culinary and decorative production. He was the first in France to use a large capacity fourélectrique and was awarded the Bronze Medal at the Salon desArtistes, section Arts Appliqués in 1939. In 1941, he won the silver medal and in 1942 he won the gold medal, at that time his workshop in Ivry sur Seine had 5 employees. The production is divided between decorative and utilitarian earthenware. He already worked with department stores such as Le Bon Marché, LesGaleries Lafayette and Printemps, and from 1944 onwards he collaborated with many ceramists such as PierreFouquet, Paul Pouchol, Georges Jouve, Louise-Edmée Chevallier and Pierre Roulot in 1949, supplying the major brands of the time with advertising ashtrays: Simca, Cinzano, Dubonnet, Dop-L'Oréal...From 1948, he participated in the Salon des Arts Ménagers for several years, and the 1950s were synonymous with success... His workshop expanded, the clientele became international, he participated in many shows, including the 1st Salon Commercial des Ateliers d'Art, which later became the Salon Maison et Objets... His production was flourishing and he deposited many models and techniques because Pol Chambost was an artist but also an outstanding technician. He also says: "The real ceramist must be a chemist, turner, sculptor, modeler, painter, cooker, etc.". As he approached his sixties, he settled in the Dordogne with his wife Irene, winning the silver medal of the city of Paris in 1971 and participating in his last Salon des Ateliers d'Art in 1981, and died in 1983 in Périgueux.