A certain transcendent unity, as if made to measure, issued from this prodigious blossoming of forms, some ordinary, others decorative, some monumental, others mannered, be they one-off pieces or produced in certain numbers. This quality, to which few artists ever remain faithful, shows through in each one of Jouve's works.
Norbert Pierlot
Georges Jouve 1910–1964
Georges Jouve was born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, France in 1910. He began his formal training in design and sculpture first at the École Boulle, and then later at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. After graduating in 1930, Jouve worked as a stage designer. Jouve was a drafted into the army in 1939. After a battle, Jouve was taken prisoner by the Nazis and interred in a German camp. After several unsuccessful escape attempts, Jouve fled to his parent’s home in Drôme in the South of France. It was in this town that Jouve began to learn the medium of ceramics, to which he applied his knowledge of sculptural forms. In 1945, Jouve moved to Paris, and he opened an atelier for ceramics on the rue de la Tombe-Issoire. Jouve’s modernist ceramics caught the eye of famed designer Jacques Adnet, who invited him to exhibit his work at the La Ceramique Contemporaine show with the Compagnie des Arts. With the support of Adnet, Jouve began to exhibit regularly at design salons like the Salon de l’Imagerie and the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs. The French Ministry of Higher Education asked Jouve to exhibit his ceramics worldwide, and his works were shown in Rio in 1946, Helsinki in 1948, and Rome in 1950. Jouve passed away in 1964, but he left behind a groundbreaking legacy of biomorphic ceramics that redefined craft with their sculptural forms.
Auction Results Georges Jouve
Important sculpture
estimate: $50,000–70,000
result: $125,000
Toupie
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $50,000
Poule
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $47,500
table lamp
estimate: $15,000–20,000
result: $40,000
Important sculpture
estimate: $30,000–50,000
result: $37,500
mirror
estimate: $25,000–35,000
result: $32,400
rare Sablier vase
estimate: $30,000–40,000
result: $30,480
table lamp
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $30,000
table lamp
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $28,750
Freeform table lamp
estimate: $12,000–15,000
result: $26,400
Rare table lamp
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $23,750
collection of eight Cylinder vases
estimate: $9,000–12,000
result: $23,750
table
estimate: $18,000–22,000
result: $20,400
Toupie
estimate: $20,000–30,000
result: $20,000
table lamps, pair
estimate: $8,000–12,000
result: $17,500
table lamp
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $16,800
table lamp
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $16,800
sconces, pair
estimate: $8,000–10,000
result: $15,340
bowls, set of two
estimate: $8,000–10,000
result: $15,000
table lamp
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $13,750
vase
estimate: $3,000–5,000
result: $11,875
vase
estimate: $7,000–9,000
result: $10,800
Cylinder vase
estimate: $5,000–7,000
result: $10,000
floor lamp
estimate: $10,000–15,000
result: $9,600
