The discovery of Japanese earthenware, or more specifically chawan (tea bowls), led to a renewal of ceramics in Europe at the end of the 20th century. The event represented a veritable shock for artists, because its aesthetics of "imperfection" were in contrast to European ceramics at the time. It allowed French ceramicists, and later Belgian, to free themselves from historical conventions. The artisanal and unique nature of these art objects followed the foundations of Art Nouveau and represented a way of opposing industrial art.

French artists such as E. Chaplet, J. Carriès or A. Dalpayrat blazed the trail. Their research led them to experiment with glazes and forms, following the example of Japanese master ceramicists. Their works were notably present in universal expositions at the time, in the Cercle des XX and in the exhibition room of La Libre Esthétique in Brussels.

Belgian artists such as A. W. Finch, O. Coppens and A. Craco threw themselves into ceramics under the influence of ideas from the Arts & Crafts and they discovered an example to follow in the work of French and Japanese ceramicists. Their techniques and aesthetic concepts are both personal and close to the spirit of chawan.