Marché des Potiers

A Two-Thousand-Year-Old Ceramic Heritage

The region of Bort-l'Étang and Lezoux is a major ceramic territory whose history dates back to Roman antiquity. Lezoux was one of the largest production centers for terra sigillata (Roman glazed pottery) between the 1st and 4th centuries, supplying fine tableware to the entire Western Roman Empire. The Marché des Potiers of Bort-l'Étang is part of this tradition by highlighting contemporary ceramic know-how while recalling this exceptional heritage through terra sigillata demonstrations.

A Quality Pottery Market

Each edition brings together around thirty potters and ceramists who are rigorously selected, representing a wide diversity of techniques: stoneware, earthenware, porcelain, raku, sculpted ceramics, and exceptional utilitarian objects. The artisans present their creations in a two-thousand-square-meter space between the town hall and the multi-purpose hall, in the Place des Platanes. Visitors can interact directly with the creators, understand their artistic approaches, and acquire unique pieces.

Activities and Discoveries

The market offers a rich program of activities for all audiences: modeling workshops for children, wheel-throwing demonstrations and ceramic techniques by artisans, and an exhibition retracing the ceramic history of Bort-l'Étang and its region. A terra sigillata demonstration allows visitors to discover the Roman pottery technique that made Lezoux famous in antiquity.

The Renaissance of a Tradition

The Marché des Potiers of Bort-l'Étang was born from the desire of the Comité d'Animation Culturelle (CAC) to revive the region's pottery market tradition after the 2015 cessation of the famous market in Ravel, which had attracted twenty thousand visitors annually for twenty-five years. Former organizers of the Ravel market and local volunteers joined forces to create this event, which has quickly become a must-attend for ceramic enthusiasts in Auvergne, attracting over three thousand visitors each year.