Massier is the name of a family of French potters based at Vallauris and Golfe-Juan on the Côte d'Azur, whose workshops became among the most admired producers of art pottery in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century France. The best-known members are Clément Massier, Delphin Massier and Jérôme Massier.
Clément Massier is celebrated for his iridescent metallic lustre glazes, developed at Golfe-Juan, which gave vases and dishes a shimmering surface in shades of gold, ruby, violet and green; his collaboration with the Symbolist artist Lucien Lévy-Dhurmer produced some of the most refined Art Nouveau ceramics. Delphin and Jérôme Massier worked at Vallauris, producing colourful majolica-style wares, large jardinières and pedestals, and naturalistic pieces modelled with flowers, birds, animals and figures. Their pottery was popular with visitors to the Riviera and is often marked with an incised or impressed family name and place. Collectors seek strong, even lustre and lively modelling, and they check carefully for chips to applied flowers, crazing and restoration, which are common on the more elaborate pieces. Massier pottery brings colour and Belle Époque character to a hall, conservatory or garden room.
