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HB Quimper Covered Box...Pêcheur Series Designed by Paul Fouillen

This delightful faïence covered box decorated in a motif that is part of the Pêcheur series of designs created in the 1920s by Paul Fouillen when he was working for the HB pottery in Quimper.

Unusual to find pieces of form painted in this design, it measures 5.25 inches in diameter and is 2.5 inches high.

The cover features a petite bretonne holding two baskets. She wears the traditional penn-sardine coif that was sported by the women working in the fish canneries.

The colorful design has her jauntily decked out in a checked shawl and apron...and that is cheerful accented with the rays of the sun, the wicker of her baskets and the stripes on her dress. The edge of the box itself is decorated with a stylized seaweed design.

Henriot Quimper Shield-form Box

The central motif of the glorious decoration of this Henriot box in the form of a heraldic shield is a lovely petite bretonne.

She sits in the paysage with her basket at her side, looking positively lovely in her traditional Fouesnantaise costume.

The box measures 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches and stands 2.25 inches high. It is in excellent condition with just the tiniest of nibbles to some of the points of the shield.

A beautiful blue-on-blue arabesque border emphasizes the elegant form.

Circa, 1925, it is marked on both the bottom of the lid and the bottom of the lower portion "Henriot Quimper 142".

HR Quimper Jardinière/Vase...Hidden Heart?

I wasn't sure whether to call this form a jardinière or a vase.  My small French dictionary differentiates between the two...defining a jardinière as a window box and a vase as a receptacle of form. The larger dictionary says a jardinière is where one cultivates flowers and a vase is a vessel or urn.  A discussion with our neighborhood fleuriste...florist...suggests a casual distinction between the two forms...a vase is for cut flowers and a jardinière is for plants. But that's a very loose description as far as Quimper pottery goes, as we've seen a lot of cross-over. What we haven't seen before is this form with its unusual shape that curves up to form what looks like an upside-down heart.

Also unusual is the combination of the lovely blue arabesque border along the sides on a piece that features demi-fantasie motifs...

Malicorne Cider Tankard...Chope pour Cidre

Made at the Plat d'Etain pottery factory run by Léon Pouplard in the town of Malicorne, this generously-sized mug was destined to be part of a celebratory meal!

"Inspired" by the success of the potteries in Quimper, Pouplard took images from Hippolyte Lalaisse's 1846 book of Breton costumes and tweaked them a bit to gave the motifs a special touch. In addition, the clay and techniques he used at his pottery give Malicorne faïence a distinctive quality of its own.

Henri Delcourt Figure of a Petite Bretonne

What an adorable petite bretonne...standing so proudly on her way to market! Her basket has two compartments and thus, she may have originally been designed to be used as a double salt...but most double salts wouldn't have a handle to get in the way of scooping out the contents, so her baskets just may be for decorative purposes only...either way, she's adorable...and quite sassy! She proudly stands 7.8125 inches high and she's 4.25 inches wide and 3.25 inches deep.

She's from the Henri Delcourt pottery in Boulogne-sur-Mer...a town near Desvres in the department of Pas de Calais. In 1917, Henri Delcourt purchased the faïencerie known as La Madeleine from none other than Jules Verlingue who had moved to Quimper after purchasing the HB factory. Delcourt's factory remained in business until 1935, so one could safely date this piece as being circa 1925.

She's in mint condition. Written on the base is "Pornichet les Pins" indicating that the figure was made to be sold in that town...a sea-side resort located in the Loire-Atlantic department of Brittany near La Baule. Pornichet was originally inhabited by salt merchants...in 1840 maritime pine trees were planted to aid in controlling the shifting sand dunes and by 1860 it was a fashionable resort for the upper levels of society who wished to benefit from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Turning her back on those fancy city-folk who frittered away their time basking by the sea...our girl put on her Sunday-best-outfit and went to market...ready to flirt her way to filling her baskets with the best that the market had to offer!

The mark on the bottom...

...the "H anchor D" signifying La Madeleine when it was run by Henri Delcourt.

Henriot Saliere...Open Salt...in the form of a Petite Bretonne with a Basket

During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the various French faïenceries produced many different forms of salieres...small decorative pieces for the table that were intended to hold salt.

Made by the Henriot factory in Quimper around 1925, the form is less-commonly found and consists of a lovely, blonde petite bretonne sitting down with a large basket on her lap.

Her costume is very colorful...she wears a pink apron over a blue skirt and on top, a vest and blouse combination that includes yellow, green, and blue. Her coiffe indicates that she represents a young, unmarried woman from the commune of Quimper.

Her basket is divided into two sections and is decorated with à la touche motifs.

She is 4.5 inches high, 3.675 inches deep, and her basket is 3.25 inches wide. Salt is corrosive and therefore, it is understandable that there are bits of missing glaze that testify to the constant handling of this sort of piece. A spot of glaze is missing off the tip of her nose, both sabots, and along the edge of the basket...plus there is a spot on her left shoulder that has been "greened-in". While there are some chips to the glaze, most of the small areas of missing glaze are actually glaze skips and are original to when she first came out of the kiln.

It is signed on the bottom...HenRiot Quimper France 116

19th Century Fourmaintraux-Courquin Rouen-motif Huilier

Located in Desvres, in the Pas de Calais département of northern France, the factory that became known as Fourmaintraux-Courquin was started in 1863 by Charles-François Fourmaintraux and his wife, the former Célina Courquin. Prior to that, Fourmaintraux had worked at his father's pottery and as the funds to leave and start his own factory came from his new wife's dowry, he wisely included her maiden name as part of the name of the new company. Early production consisted primarily of tiles, but with the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the firm began to produce artistic wares based on classic forms and designs. By 1880, there were ninety employees producing pieces of wonderful décor and form...like this huilier.

Originally used to hold oil or oil and vinegar, it is decorated with a Rouen-inspired motif that  features elegant cobalt blue lambrequins and red, yellow, and blue floral sprays.

It measures 8 inches across spout to spout, 6 inches high, and 2.875 inches deep. It dates from the last quarter of the nineteenth century and is in excellent condition considering its age...the spouts and the bottom rim have areas where the glaze is missing, but the handle is intact and the piece has not had any restorations.

It is signed on the bottom with the mark of the Fourmaintraux-Courquin factory...circa 1885.

 

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