faux marble glazed terracotta tableware by astier de villatte

‘assiette dessert marbre rouge bleu jaune’ by astier de villatte all images courtesy astier de villatte

paris design company astier de villatte, established by benoît astier de villatte and ivan pericoli, conceives of artisan paper goods, perfumes, glassware, silverware, candles, furniture and ceramics. each of their works are created within the confine of their workshop, once belonging to napoleon bonaparte’s silver smith, in bastille, france. astier de villatte, noted for their modern intervention to antique ceramics, have the faux-marble glazed collection ‘marbre’ in collaboration with john derian. the stoneware is formed from a durable black terracotta medium to then be glazed in such a way that each piece from the series seems to be chiseled from marble, rather than crafted from clay.

typically, to create a marble glaze for a ceramic piece, one begins with a more thick paint such as oil or acrylic to then be diluted by water or thinning solution. after the predominant paint color has been thinned, this mixture is then poured upon the center of the ceramic piece. accent pigment is then added to the original shade, swirled with a precise device in order to create streaking and movement within the glaze. the piece must then have the glaze spread from the center to the exterior of its surface by means of rocking the stoneware, completed by hand. after drying for some time, the designer must repeat the initial process until the object is entirely coated with additional colors or shapes having been added to the surface. once complete, the piece must rest horizontally to dry as the artisan sees fit and the work is then fired once more.

‘assiette dessert marbre noir bleu rouge’

‘assiette dessert marbre turquoise orange noir’

‘assiette dessert marbre bleu’

clockwise from left to right: ‘tasse interieur marbre vert rouge jaune’,  ‘tasse exterieur marbre vert rouge jaune’, ‘mug marbre rouge bleu’

‘assiette dessert marbre beige’

left: ‘assiette plate marbre vert rouge jaune’ right: ‘plat ovale marbre bleu’