Mithé Espelt, Ceramicist

The work of ceramicist Mithé Espelt is bathed in the sun of her native Camargue. She has endeavored to create a colorful, radiant, and resolutely feminine oeuvre. Her mirrors, secret boxes, and enameled earth jewelry have magnified the intimate daily life of women.

Her discreet but affirmed artistic project is rediscovered along with other designers of her generation, like Line Vautrin. Her touching pieces have been notably highlighted through several remarkable appearances on the show Affaire conclue.

Each of her unique ceramic works plays with color variations, crackled enamels, and hand shaping.

A graceful floral mirror by Mithé Espelt, titled Romantic. One can observe the fine glazes of Mithé Espelt and the trace of her hand on the golden rim.

The Birth of the Espelt Myth

Very active in the 70s, Mithé Espelt was temporarily forgotten by the end of the century. The discreet ceramist no longer wished to sign her works, which were then attributed to others. In 2020, a Parisian gallery organizes a major retrospective exhibition. Elderly, she passes away on the day of the opening and does not witness the spotlight during her lifetime, as she wished.

Since then, the Espelt myth was born, and her work has come back into the limelight, accompanied by a monographic publication by collector Antoine Candau. The Piasa auction house conducted an event sale in January 2023, with a sales revenue of over 700,000€, contributing to the creation of Mithé Espelt's market value and the enthusiasm for her art objects.

One of the many unique secret boxes by Mithé Espelt, titled “little flower” (c. 1967)

A Life in Ceramics

Mithé Espelt was born in 1923 in Lunel, near Montpellier, into a family of artists. As a child, her grandfather associated with Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau, immersing Mithé in a creative environment.

She decided to dedicate her studies to Decorative Arts. She spent three years at the Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, where she notably met Pierre Soulages. Then, she joined the Fontcarrade school of ceramics to refine her training. During the war years, she joined the Lydia Chartier workshop, where she made high-quality buttons and jewelry sold to couturiers, helping her through this period.

A jewelry box in wood by Mithé Espelt. The ceramic lid is gilded with gold leaf and adorned with an enameled flower.

In 1946, at the age of 23, Mithé Espelt returned to Lunel and began her career as a ceramist. She gradually established her personal enamel technique and the grammar of her work. Known for being discreet, in the 60s, she toured ceramic shops with her van, particularly on the French Riviera. In 1973, she even moved to Martinique to open a gallery!

A Unique Work

Her work as a ceramist comprises treasure boxes, mirrors, and jewelry, all objects that resonate with femininity and intimacy. Her pictorial language consists of endlessly varied flowers, decorative enamels, and naive animals.

Mithé Espelt invested her time in adorning her colorful and shiny enamels, in an era when women were often relegated indoors more often than not. Her objects, made of clay because bronze was too expensive, are as luxurious as possible.

Featured : The unmistakable crackled gold leaf of Mithé Espelt.

Mithé Espelt's unique approach to gold crackling was to re-enchant women's everyday lives, personal care, and grooming. Thus, it is from within that Mithé Espelt shifted the lines, and it is in this way that a now feminist reading is brought to her decorative, artistic work, possibly more committed than it appeared.

Mithé Espelt's enchanting work is currently being reevaluated. The ceramist is at the heart of a real fashion phenomenon, with numerous media echoes and artistic recognition. She has entered the Artprice ranking thanks to a record number of auction sales in 2023. Now is the time to invest in a beautiful piece that will tastefully decorate your interior!

Mithé Espelt at the Le Coin des Arts gallery.

Luc Bertrand, for the Le Coin des Arts gallery