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Markings used by the Porquier factory:

Notes:

The mark on a grès bottle:

Porquier A
          A
    Quimper

Because the government imposed more stringent regulations on the production of grès, the marking system for this type of pottery was enforced earlier and more evenly than that for faïence.

While the AP mark was registered in 1887, and may have been used earlier, in the majority of pieces seen in today's market, the AP  indicates a piece made after 1895 when the factory was directed by Arthur Porquier. It was the mark for pieces that were not decorated with a design created by Alfred Beau. Caution...there were other vintage potteries...in France, Germany. etc...that used an identical conjoined AP mark...again, the colors of the glaze and clay and the type of decoration are far better indicators of age and origin than the mark.

The Porquier-Beau mark...a trefoil formed from a "P" and a sideways  "B"...was first registered in 1875 and indicates the association between Alfred Beau and the widow Porquier. It was used on pieces produced at the Porquier factory that had a décor that had been designed by Alfred Beau. It does not signify a piece personally painted by Alfred Beau.

Some variations of the trefoil PB mark:

With the name of the décor in black...

...or in blue

Here, the Porquier-Beau mark, generally in blue for the faïence examples, was painted in black on a terre vernisée piece.

Alfred Beau ended his formal arrangement with the Porquier factory in 1894; after that date and until the factory ceased production in 1903...closing its doors for good in 1904...the factory added a serif to the trefoil "PB" mark. Again, the painter-decorators had ingrained habits and there are instances where the earlier, sans serif mark can be found on examples made after 1894.

Marks used at the Fouillen Factory:

Notes:

The first pieces made by Paul Fouillen after he left the HB factory were fired at the Henriot factory and bear his mark as well as that of Henriot. Paul Fouillen died in 1958; Maurice Fouillen continued regular production until 1980.

Marks used at the Kéraluc Factory:

HB-Henriot Marks:

Notes:

This mark began with the 1984 creation of the Société Nouvelle des Faïences de Quimper by a group of American investors headed by Paul Janssens. In 2003, the French holdings of the firm were purchased by Pierre Chiron, putting the factory back in French hands as Faîencerie de Quimper HB-Henriot. Since then, Janssens retired and Chiron created a new company...Quimper LLC...as a U.S.-based subsidiary to distribute HB-Henriot pieces in North America. With a couple of breaks along the way, the factory can trace its lineage back to 1708 when Pierre Bousquet opened the original Grande Maison on Place Styvel.

FAB (Faiencerie d'Art Breton) Marks


 

                                                 from 2003

Notes:

The Faïencerie d'Art Breton was founded in 1994 by a group that includes a former owner of the HB factory, a direct decendent of the owner of the old Henriot factory, and two leading merchants of Quimper pottery.  Simultaneously preserving tradition and fostering innovation, the firm produces pieces adorned with the legendary petit breton along with limited edition examples by noted international  artisans...including the Scotsman Alexander Goudie, Enrique Marin of Spain, and Olivier Lapicque of Concarneau. The mark was changed in January of 2003 to mark the opening of their new factory.

Artists' Marks and Other Miscellany:

This mark was used on limited edition pieces issued by HB-Henriot in honor of what was then thought to be the 300th anniversary of the founding of the first modern-day pottery factory in Quimper. It has since been discovered that the factory was founded in 1708.

This mark...a reference to the fish of Saint Corentin...is found on pieces made by the HB factory that were designed in the 1920s for the Hostellerie du Relais de Saint Corentin by Adolphe Jean Lachaud (1889-1952).

The # mark was part of the "morse-code" used by the HB factory from 1917 to 1942; at one time it was assigned to Paul Fouillen. Note that caution must be utilized in attributing every # marked piece to Fouillen as, in some cases, when a factory painter left, his or her mark was re-assigned. The execution of the décor is a more telling indicator than the mark.

Like the previous example, this piece was made at the HB factory for a specific retailer...in this case Macy's.

Sometimes the factory designation was included...in this case, "HB Quimper".

This type of mark indicates a piece that used a design...pattern or mold...that had been created by and sold to the particular factory by a specific artist...in this instance, Charles Maillard. It does not indicate that the named artist ever touched that specific piece. In general, when a specific artist actually created a specific piece, it was signed in a different and distinct manner  and sometimes included the notation "pièce unique".

The same goes for this piece designed by Jim-Eugène Sévellec...it was not painted by Jim-Eugène Sévellec...

...nor was this piece painted by Mathurin Méheut. The markings indicate that circa 1930, Henriot artist number 15 decorated this plate with a design created by Mathurin Méheut and that the piece was intended to be sold outside of France.

Remember this was written to provide a wee bit of guidance on the markings found on Quimper...it is by no means complete...and more importantly...it's the artistic quality of the painting, the sculptural essence of the mold, and the execution of the firing of a piece that truly matters...not the mark!

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