I will never drink your water. This small saddlebag-shaped sculpture, modeled by Paul Gauguin in 1887, does not seem to have a functional but decorative vocation. The artist had just spent his first Breton stay in Pont-Aven in 1886. On his return to Paris, while trying to renew himself and exploit his creations, he met Ernest Chaplet, one of the most creative potters of his time. He is initiated into his technique. Gauguin projects his Peruvian heritage there. The piece presented is a partially glazed ceramic with a motif decoration of young Bretons in traditional costumes. There are also geese, a recurring motif in Gauguin. The inspiration comes from notebooks made in Brittany.

More than the line of the object, the artist's interest is in the material and in its modeling. With brown sandstone, Gauguin associates a partial copper-brown varnish reminiscent of the leather saddlebags of pilgrims in Compostela. It is believed that he produced about a hundred of these pottery, of which very few have survived. There was no success. Gauguin wrote to his wife: "I make ceramic sculptures, Schuffenecker says they are masterpieces and that the creator is too, but they are probably too artistic to sell". Paul Gauguin is known for his paintings, but he is also a sculptor, engraver and has been able to multiply his artistic experiences.

© Musée des beaux-arts de Quimper.