Vintage French Ceramic Lava Lamp History: Information on Funky French LUC Vallauris Lava Lamps :::

This small webpage is dedicated to vintage French Ceramic Lamps. Unlike most commonly seen vintage lava lamps, they designs are ceramic based and capped. They feature a wide variety of designs and artwork on the bases and the caps. They do look hand finished and very rarely have seen with glitter. Most that I have seen feature markings on the base which states: Creations LUC Vallauris. A model has been seen with a gold sticker on the glass bottle saying: Creations SOFRANEX.

These lamps feature the name Crestions LUC Vallauris on the base. This marking has been confirmed as the mark of Auguste Lucchesi (Lyon 1913), he first sold Vallauris pottery in Lyon as a merchant. In 1951 he moved to Vallauris and started a workshop. In 1960 he became chairman of the A.V.E.C. In 1961 Gérard Damiato joins the workshop (his son in law) and gives an artistic boost to the production.

I have personally seen ones which feature strip shred glitter. Very little information is known about these lamps, but they sometimes surface for sale. If they are cloudy they can most certainly refilled using Mathmos wax and master fluid, or the original fluid can be filtered for clarity. They are really funky.

Please see the examples below. I have added names to each model, there are an endless amount of models. Please note that it is the mainly the paintwork on the lamp and texture which varies for piece to piece, the actual shape tends to stay the same. Please choose from one of three pages from the menu above (more pages will become active once the content comes in and more of these wonderful lamps are discovered). Thank you.

A mix of weird dark colours and weird textures makes this LUC Vallauris lamp base very unique and memorable. This particular model below is quite interesting, this lamp features splatters or paint dropped on the base which adds some relief to the base. The colours stand out on the base and cap. Just like Midnight Fireworks, this lamp is beautiful when restored.

The lamp below features yet another different surface texture, this time a rough dark brown/ black combination that I call Earth. The bottle is clear and flows well. I notice the wax used in these models is rather translucent looking, however it does flow. This model features the same bottle and same cap and base style as the other models we have seen. It also features the LUC writing on the base.

Please see the images below for more information. Thank you to Manuel for the images below.

Below: Additional photos below: Showing inside of the base, cap, exterior finish of the base and the underside of the lamp. Please see the images below. Thank you to Manuel for the images below.

The lamp's base and cap below features yet another different pattern, this time a base brown colour with white topping - a really different funky design very tropical looking. Sadly the bottle is missing, but one can see another design that was produced. This model features the same bottle and same cap and base form as the other models we have seen. It also features the LUC writing on the base.

Please see the images below for more information. Thank you to Fabia for sending the images below of her lovely lamp.

The lamp's base and cap below features yet another different pattern. Also of note the bottle has glitter but interestingly also painted blue on the underside. I love the contrast of the top lighter colours against the other base colour. Thank you once again to Fabia for donating these photos!

We would love to feature your lamp on this website. These LUC Vallauris Lamps have so many different styles that we hardly ever see two that are the same. Please drop us an email if you'd like us to feature your lamp. Thank you.