Provence has all the elements needed for the establishment of ceramics
factories: good veins of clay, sufficiently abundant forests to
provide firewood for heating the ovens, the proximity of the Mediterranean's
ports to facilitate shipping towards the south, and the Beaucaire
Fair which allows the distribution of goods towards Northern France.
In addition the Cast Steel Edict of 1672, enjoining the nobility
to contribute its silverware and gold to the Treasury, forces the
members of this class to resort to other materials, namely earthenware.
Provence thus becomes, over the centuries, a major producer of ceramics
: crockery in the Marseilles region, at Moustiers in the Alpes de
Haute Provence, at Aubagne in the Bouches-du-Rhône, or at Varages
in the Var, fine china at Castellet and Apt in the Vaucluse, and
also glazed earthenware at Biot or Vallauris in the Alpes-Maritimes.
