A brief distance from the gorgeous medieval city of Uzès, the village of Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie lives as much as its identify. Wander the slim lanes and you may discover potteries appear to be on each road. This isn’t any strange village – right here clay is not only a craft – it is a lifestyle. Discover extra in our information to Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie…
Guide to Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie
“Saint-Quentin” takes its identify from a Third-century Christian martyr, a reminder of the world’s historical religious roots. But it is the second a part of the identify, Pottery, that tells the actual story. Added formally in 1886, the identify acknowledged what had outlined the village for hundreds of years: pottery. Long earlier than it grew to become a part of the official title, clay formed each the economic system and on a regular basis life right here.
The village’s pottery origins date again to Gallo-Roman instances. Archaeologists have uncovered fragments of amphorae and on a regular basis wares, proof that this was as soon as a thriving middle of ceramic manufacturing. By the Middle Ages, the village had change into recognized for its utilitarian pottery reminiscent of jugs, oil jars, and conventional cooking pots referred to as ‘toupins’ which had been bought throughout southern France. The flooring tiles of the Palais des Papes in Avignon are believed to have some from Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie.
The nineteenth century decline introduced, as industrial manufacturing changed handmade items. By the early twentieth century, the craft was all however misplaced. Then, within the Sixties and ’70s, a revival started. Artists and artisans started returning to the village, drawn by the standard of the clay, the great thing about the panorama, and the prospect to revive a disappearing custom. What started as a small inventive resurgence has grown right into a flourishing inventive group.
Pottery & Artisan Studios
Visit Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie immediately and you will find some 45 artisans working in studios scattered all through the village, in addition to a number of galleries. Some potters use conventional methods, shaping rustic terracotta kinds, whereas others push boundaries with modern designs.
As fairly as it’s, with flower festooned, and tiled streets and pottery decorations in every single place from delicate butterflies, to tiled paving and even a life-sized girl sitting on a bench, this isn’t a museum village – it is a working one. Studio doorways are sometimes open, inviting guests to observe as clay is thrown, formed, and reworked, like on the atelier/gallery of Hélène Lathoumétie at 5 rue de la Fontaine. Here Hélène, impressed by nature, creates ethereal items from earrings to teapots, bowls and extra uncommon objects like a quilt lined porcelain muff! Her items are delicately fashioned, typically with lace-like options, and coloured with gentle pastels.
And the artists love to talk to guests about their very own and different potter’s work, they do not compete however collaborate, and infrequently a number of potters will share studio and store house.
You’ll see the whole lot from basic Provençal olive jars to sculptural vases and chic, hand-thrown tableware. Bring a sturdy bag; you will be tempted to take dwelling fragile treasures. You may even take a pottery lesson (particulars through the vacationer workplace).
Visit on the primary weekend in May for a braderie when potters maintain a market of their wares; in July, there is a main annual pottery occasion for ceramic artwork and modern creation in France and Europe – the Terralha Festival, which options artisans from throughout Europe, and packed program together with hands-on workshops, movie screenings, exhibitions on the Museum of Mediterranean Pottery and the Terra Viva Gallery, talks, and extra.
To totally respect the depth of this custom, a go to to the Musée de la Poterie Méditerranéenne is crucial. Housed in a former outdated mill, the museum traces the evolution of pottery throughout the Mediterranean, with a powerful deal with the area’s heritage. Displays vary from historical amphorae to trendy ceramics, providing perception into methods reminiscent of glazing, firing, and shaping.
It’s a small museum, nevertheless it has a captivating show which ranges from historical amphorae to trendy ceramics and is ideal for not simply the methods of glazing and firing but in addition for understanding how one thing so simple as a clay vessel connects centuries of human life.
Food & Drink
There are loads of wonderful eating places within the village and nothing beats lunch on a shaded terrace. Nearby vineyards produce wines that pair fantastically with native dishes, whereas the twice weekly market (Tuesday and Friday) bursts with coloration: olives, honey, herbs and seasonal produce reflecting the identical earthy palette because the pottery itself.
Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie is a village the place custom is not preserved behind glass, it is nonetheless being lived, formed, and reinvented day-after-day.
Discover extra about Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie: uzes-pontdugard.com/en
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