Pair of Large Vintage French Emerald-Glazed Anduze Garden Urns

A substantial pair of French Anduze garden urns, handmade by the Poterie de la Madeleine approximately forty years ago and bearing the pottery’s signature. Their generous, classically shaped bodies are finished in a rich emerald-green glaze, now beautifully crazed and varied after decades spent outdoors. Areas of rubbing and glaze loss reveal the warm terracotta beneath, while subtle shifts in tone give the surfaces the timeworn appearance of much older garden pottery. Applied garlands, medallions and molded bands follow the traditional vocabulary of the Anduze vase, and the pair remains impressive for its scale and presence. They are pierced for drainage.

The Poterie de la Madeleine, which helped revive the traditional Vase d’Anduze in the 1980s, takes particular pride in preserving the region’s centuries-old manufacturing techniques. Each piece passes through a labor-intensive, multi-stage artisanal process, giving subtle variations from one vessel to another and ensuring that no two are exactly alike. The workshop also produces deliberately aged finishes, including its patine ancienne. In this pair, however, the character of the surface has developed naturally through decades in a garden, giving the glaze an especially convincing depth and irregularity. 

With their generous proportions, classical silhouette and emerald glaze, they embody the spirit of the classic French garden, bringing structure, color and formality to terraces, courtyards and planted landscapes. Their scale makes them particularly suited to topiary, citrus or young olive trees, while their naturally evolved patina gives these relatively young pieces the depth and atmosphere of much older garden pottery. Used as a pair, they create symmetry and architectural rhythm along an entrance, terrace or garden axis; placed more informally, the mottled green glaze and glimpses of terracotta lend them a softer, more relaxed presence. 

Note: A matching pair is available separately; together, the four create an even stronger sense of symmetry, rhythm, and architectural presence.