Lot 142. Collection Fina Gomez. Elisabeth Joulia, Monumental 'Champignon' sculpture, 1970. Stoneware with mineral elements, ash glaze. 47 cm high, 73 cm wide. Incised 70/Joulia. Sold for €25,600 (estimate €2,000-3,000). Photo: Bonhams.

LONDON.- The Fina Gomez collection of Modern Ceramics sale Part II, which brought together ceramics by various artists including a large selection of ceramics by Cristina Merchán, was 98% sold by lot (100% by value) on Thursday 12 July on Bonhams.com. The top lot was a stoneware sculpture with mineral elements and ash glaze entitled Monumental champignon by Elisabeth Joulia which sold for €25,600. The sculpture had a pre-sale estimate of €2,000-3,000.

The 160-lot sale made a total of €200,128.

Lot 126. Collection Fina Gomez. Fance Franck, Bol à grand pied (Large footed bowl). Porcelaine de Sèvres tournée, émail rouge. 12 cm, 13 cm. Marque de la manufacture de Sèvres 72/MANUFACTURE NATIONALE/DÉCORÉ A SÈVRES/AF, initiales de l'artiste FF. Sold for €10,880 (estimate: €500 - 700), a world record price for the artist. Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Sèvres, France
Fina Gomez, acquired from the above, 1972
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Exposition / Exhibition: Sèvres, France, 1972.

Note: Born in Alabama, 1931, Fance Franck came from a milieu of university scholars. Orphaned in her early childhood, she was then raised by her aunt in Texas. Interested in literature she studied at the Rice University, Texas, and then Harvard, where she chose poetry and contemporary literature.

In the early 1950s, she moved to New York and attended classes at the Greenwich Pottery School. Whilst in New York she became close friends with Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly. Together they would often spend their weekends at her country home on the outskirts of New York. She also socialised with the composer John Cage and choreographer Merce Cunningham.

After meeting Francine Del Pierre in Paris, Franck became her disciple and under her tutelage, she learned the craft of ceramics and discovered 'studio pottery'. The opportunity to fulfil her ambition to work with porcelain arose after meeting Serge Gauthier, the director of the Sèvres factory during the 1960s, which was a relationship she always maintained. Franck continued her meticulous research into glazes. Working together with the French chemical firm Elf-Atochem, her studies of copper reds had a profound effect and led to the rediscovery of a Ming dynasty process called: 'le rouge frais', which had not been used since the 15th Century. During the Ming dynasty, this colour had been extremely difficult to obtain and had been exclusively reserved for the Emperor. Supported by The Percival & David Foundation of Chinese Art, she published the formula to profit ceramicists worldwide. She also created porcelain in her atelier on Rue Bonaparte, with the assistance of staff from Sèvres.

Towards the end of her career, Franck became very interested in Japan and learned the language. Assisted by a grant she worked in Japan for three years with the manufacturer in Arita, a town renowned for its porcelain. Her work would remain forever influenced by this Japanese experience, notably through her use of Tenmoku glaze.

Née en Alabama en 1931, Fance Franck est issue d'un milieu de chercheurs universitaires. Orpheline dans sa petite enfance, elle est ensuite élevée par sa tante au Texas. Intéressée par la littérature, elle étudie à la Rice University, au Texas, puis à Harvard, où elle choisit la poésie et la littérature contemporaine.

Au début des années 1950, elle s'installe à New York et suit des cours à la Greenwich Pottery School. Pendant son séjour à New York, elle se lie d'amitié avec Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg et Cy Twombly. Ensemble, ils passent souvent leurs week-ends dans sa maison de campagne, dans la banlieue de New York. Elle fréquente également le compositeur John Cage et le chorégraphe Merce Cunningham.

Après avoir rencontré Francine Del Pierre à Paris, Franck devient sa disciple et, sous sa tutelle, elle apprend le métier de céramiste et découvre la "poterie d'atelier". L'opportunité de réaliser son ambition de travailler la porcelaine nait de sa rencontre avec Serge Gauthier, directeur de la manufacture de Sèvres dans les années 1960, une relation qu'elle entretiendra toujours. Franck poursuit ses recherches méticuleuses sur les émaux. En collaboration avec l'entreprise française de chimie Elf-Atochem, ses études sur les rouges de cuivre ont eu un impact profond et ont conduit à la redécouverte d'un procédé de la dynastie Ming appelé "le rouge frais", qui n'avait plus été utilisé depuis le XVe siècle. Pendant la dynastie Ming, cette couleur était extrêmement difficile à obtenir et était exclusivement réservée à l'empereur. Soutenue par la Percival & David Foundation of Chinese Art, elle a publié la formule au profit des céramistes du monde entier. Elle crée également de la porcelaine dans son atelier de la rue Bonaparte, avec l'aide du personnel de Sèvres.

Vers la fin de sa carrière, Franck s'intéresse de près au Japon et en apprend la langue. Grace à une bourse, elle y travaille pendant trois ans chez le fabricant d'Arita, une ville réputée pour sa porcelaine. Son œuvre restera à jamais influencée par cette expérience japonaise, notamment par son utilisation de la glaçure Tenmoku.

Jean d'Albis
Fance Franck, Francine Del Pierre Foundation, Paris

Lot 154. Collection Fina Gomez. Nadia Pasquer, Sculpture, 1970s. Grès émaillé. 61.5 x 45 x 13 cm. Marcque en creux NP. Sold for €9,600 (estimate €500-700), a world record price for the artist. Photo: Bonhams.

This exceptional collection illustrated Gomez’s taste for contemporary ceramics from the 1960s to the 1990s. The first 64 lots by Cristina Merchán were all exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1991 during a landmark exhibition under the direction of Yvonne Brunhammer.

Among the selection of 77 works by the Venezuelan artist and ceramicist, Cristina Merchán offered at auction, Animal de Forêt (Forest Anima), 1961, a beautiful modelled and enamelled bronze-green stoneware was sold for €3,520 against an estimate of €2,000 to €3,000. Born in 1926 in Venezuela, Cristina Merchán first studied painting before becoming passionate about ceramics.

Lot 3. Collection Fina Gomez. Cristina Merchán, Animal de forêt', 1961.Grés modelé et émaillé vert bronze. 24.5 x 40.5 x 14 cm. Signature en creux Cristina. Sold for €3,520 (estimate €2,000 - €3,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Lot 94. Collection Fina Gomez. Pierre Culot, Vase de section rectangulaire, 1980s. Grès monté en plaques, émail mat et brillant. 28 x 27 x 9 cm. Marque en creux C. Sold for €5,120 (estimate €1,000-1,500). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Fina Gomez, acquired from the artist
Thence by descent to the present owner

Bibliographie / Literature: 'Amateur Et Céramiste', la revue de la céramique et du verre, no. 37, November-December 1987, p. 25 for a similar example
Yvonne Brunhammer, et al., Collection Fina Gomez, 30 ans de céramique contemporaine, exh. cat., Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris, 1991, p. 83, cat. no. 37 for a similar example.

Lot 95. Collection Fina Gomez. Pierre Culot, Vase de section rectangulaire, 1980s. Grès monté en plaques, émail mat et brillant. 23 x 23 x 7 cm. Marque en creux C. Sold for €4,480 (estimate €1,000-1,500). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Fina Gomez, acquired from the artist
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Bibliographie / Literature: 'Amateur Et Céramiste', la revue de la céramique et du verre, no. 37, November-December 1987, p. 25 for a similar example
Yvonne Brunhammer, et al., Collection Fina Gomez, 30 ans de céramique contemporaine, exh. cat., Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris, 1991, p. 83, cat. no. 37 for a similar example

Note: Né en 1938 en Belgique, Pierre Culot se forme à la céramique à l'école d'art des moines de l'abbaye de Maredsous et travaille dans l'atelier de potiers renommés tels qu'Antoine de Vinck ou Bernard Leach. Il expose à son tour dans les capitales européennes et est lauréat du Grand Prix de céramique à Faenza et à la Biennale de Vallauris. Ses inspirations sont multiples et dues à ses voyages en Afrique, au Japon et au Yémen. Les pièces de sa production aux formes simples, sculpturales sont revêtues de cendres et d'oxydes à la palette limitée et naturelle. Pierre Culot a également réalisé des sculptures monumentales pour des universités et des jardins en Belgique et en France avant de disparaître en 2011.

Born in 1938 in Belgium, Pierre Culot trained in ceramics at the Art School of the monks of Maredsous Abbey and worked in the workshops of renowned potters such as Antoine de Vinck and Bernard Leach. He in turn exhibited in European capitals and won the Grand Prix for ceramics in Faenza and at the Vallauris Biennial. His inspirations are multiple and stem from his travels in Africa, Japan, and Yemen. The pieces of his production, with their simple, sculptural forms, are coated with ashes and oxides with a limited, natural palette. Pierre Culot also created monumental sculptures for universities and gardens in Belgium and France before he passed away in 2011.

Lot 97. Collection Fina Gomez. Robert Deblander, Vase boule, circa 1975. Grès tourné, émail mat bleu-vert. 36.5 cm, 37.5 cm. Signature en creux DEBLANDER. Sold for €6,080 (Estimate €2,000-3,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Fina Gomez, acquired from the artist
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Bibliographie / Literature: Yvonne Brunhammer, et al., Collection Fina Gomez, 30 ans de céramique contemporaine, exh. cat., Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris, 1991, cat. no. 42 for a similar example.

Lot 105. Collection Fina Gomez. Robert Deblander, Grand vase, 1980s. Grés émaillé. 30.5 cm, 22 cm. Signature et cachet en creux DEBLANDER et sorte d'étoile. Sold for €3,840. Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Fina Gomez, acquired from the artist
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Note: Né en 1924, Robert Deblander se forme à l'École des Arts Décoratifs de Paris et auprès de plusieurs artisans avant de créer son propre atelier de faïence en 1949 à Neuilly-sur-Seine. La Borne étant pourtant le centre névralgique au milieu du XXe siècle pour tout céramiste, Robert Deblander choisit de travailler la terre de Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye. Il ne choisit pas entre le modelage et le tournage et s'intéresse au vernis au sel et à l'émail à la cendre de bois puis à l'émail cuit en atmosphère réductrice. C'est en 1975 que Deblander commence à tourner des pièces en porcelaine aux émaux monochromes mats et satinés. Les vases que nous présentons sont typiques du sens de la ligne et du volume de ce céramiste. D'ailleurs selon ses propres mots : « les émaux que j'utilise ont surtout l'ambition de s'accorder avec ces volumes pour constituer un tout ». À partir de 1987, il dirige les études au Centre national d'initiation, de formation et de perfectionnement de la poterie et du grès à Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye mais fournit également des modèles pour la Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. Par son approche à la fois ancrée dans les millénaires et dans son temps, Robert Deblander a révolutionné la céramique de la seconde partie du XXe siècle avant de s'éteindre en 2010.

Born in 1924, Robert Deblander trained at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and with several craftsmen before setting up his own earthenware workshop in 1949 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. La Borne being however the nerve centre in the middle of the 20th century for any ceramist, Robert Deblander chose to work Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye's clay. His first research did not choose between modelling and throwing and was interested in salt glaze and wood ash glaze, then in glaze fired in a reducing atmosphere. In 1975 Deblander started turning porcelain pieces with monochrome matt and satin glazes. The vases we are presenting are typical of this ceramist's sense of line and volume. In his own words: "the glazes I use are intended to blend with these volumes to form a whole". From 1987 onwards, he directs the studies at the Centre national d'initiation, de formation et de perfectionnement de la poterie et du grès in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye but also provides models for the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. With his approach, which is both rooted in the millennia and in his time, Robert Deblander revolutionised ceramics in the second half of the 20th century before he passed away in 2010.

Marcus McDonald, Director of Design at Bonhams, said: “The first part of the Fina Gomez collection last November achieved some great prices and set records for Claire Debril, Geofrrey Doonan, Anne Kjaersgaard, Cristina Merchán, Val Barry. This second part was a renewed tribute to Fina Gomez who loved and collected ceramics throughout her life. These works have become historically important pieces and have been recognized today as masterpieces. A third part is planned to be sold in 2024.”

Other highlights of the sale included:

Lot 130. Collection Fina Gomez. Jean Girel, Rare 'Sauterelle' boîte à couvercle, 1980s. Porcelaine émaillée. 11 cm, 20 cm. Signature Girel. Sold for €3,520 (estimate €500-700). Photo Bonhams

Provenance: Fina Gomez, acquired from the artist
Thence by descent to the present owner

Bibliographie / Literature: Jean Girel: Ceramics, exh. cat., Maison Gerard, New York and Galerie Arcanes, Paris, 2012, passim for similar examples

Exposition / Exhibition: Musee Nationale de la Ceramique, Limoges, 1995.

Note: Né en 1947 en Savoie, Jean Girel apprend la poterie traditionnelle à l'alquifoux puis entre à l'École régionale des Beaux-Arts de Mâcon avant de s'installer à Paris et de devenir professeur d'arts plastiques. Après son retour en Savoie, il ne se consacre plus qu'à la céramique en 1972 et mène ses recherches sur l'émail en tentant de se rapprocher des céramiques chinoises des périodes Song et antérieures. En 1980, il obtient la médaille d'or de la Biennale Internationale de Céramique d'art à Vallauris, la même année que sa première exposition personnelle à la galerie Sarver. Antoine Fäy-Hallé choisit Jean Girel pour son exposition à Sèvres en 1983 et 1984 : « De la terre et du feu : 5 potiers contemporains ». Si les petites coupes et vases fins sont emblématiques de sa production, il produit aussi des réalisations monumentales notamment pour une école et une banque. Son travail de l'émail sur de délicates pièces tournées donne une incontestable dimension poétique à son œuvre.

Born in 1947, in Savoie, Jean Girel learns traditional alquifoux pottery and then enters the regional École des Beaux-Arts in Mâcon before moving to Paris and becoming an art teacher. After his return to Savoie, he devoted himself solely to ceramics in 1972 and conducted research on enamel, trying to get closer to Chinese ceramics of the Song and earlier periods. In 1980, he won the gold medal at the International Biennial of Ceramic Art in Vallauris, the same year as his first solo exhibition at the Sarver Gallery. Antoine Fäy-Hallé chose Jean Girel for his exhibition in Sèvres in 1983 and 1984: "De la terre et du feu : 5 potiers contemporains". The small cups and fine vases are emblematic of his production, he also produced monumental creations for a school and a bank. His work with enamel on delicate turned pieces gives an undeniable poetic dimension to his work.

Lot 155. Collection Fina Gomez. Lucie Rie, Vase miniature, vers 1983. Porcelaine, émaux manganèse et cobalt bleu avec sgraffito. 10 cm, 6 cm. Trace de cachet dans l'émail. Sold for €5,760 (estimate €2,000-3,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Provenance: Fina Gomez, gift from the artist
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Bibliographie / Literature: Tony Birks, Lucie Rie, Paris, 2008, p. 109 for a similar example.

FINA GOMEZ

Born in 1920, the granddaughter of Juan Vicente Gomez, President of Venezuela, the young Fina discovered a passion for photography from childhood. Over time, she became an admired photographer, creating and developing her works in her Parisian studio. She studied with Madame d'Ora (Dora Kallmus), a famous fashion and portrait photographer, and from 1945 to 1969 exhibited in Caracas and Paris, publishing books of her own photos, as well as in association with poets. and writers. In 1961, she created the Fina Gomez Foundation to promote and support artistic and cultural exchanges between Latin America and Europe and financed numerous art and ceramics exhibitions, as well as cultural or musical events for more than 20 years. In partnership with the French and Venezuelan governments, the Fina Gomez Foundation organised a major exhibition of French Impressionists in 1962-1963. Among her close friends and acquaintances were Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesus Soto, Geneviève Asse, Pierre Seghers, Cristina Merchán, Manuel Angeles Ortiz, Baltasar Lobo, Armando Barrios, Alejandro Otero, Hector Poleo, Mercedes Pardo, Fance Franck, Emilio Pettoruti, Pablo Picasso and Mercedes Guillen, Yves Saint-Laurent and Christian Dior.