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Unusual HR Coquille Sécouette...Scallop Shell Snuff

This unusual sécouette or snuff container is in the form of a scallop shell!

It is a very generous size...3.125 inches high, 3.25 inches wide, and 1.5 inches deep. It has a well-loved appearance...there are old restorations along a good portion of the edges and a lot of rubbing to the surface of the glaze. Snuffs were used often...that's one reason why they were given as engagement gifts and tokens of affection...everytime the recipient went to use some snuff, he or she would think of the person from whom they received the snuff container. This type of container is known variably and interchangeably as a sécouette or tabatière.

Given its generous size and the fact that the personage decoration features a lovely petite bretonne...one could easily surmise that the original recipient of this charming piece was a petit breton...perhaps a fisherman whose job meant that he left Brittany for months on end.  With this piece, he would think fondly of his lady love everytime he pulled his little coquille out of his pocket to indulge in some snuff.

A "signature" Quimper faïence floral and blue-dot motif adorns the other side of the scallop shell.

The hole is at the base between the two "feet"...


...and the side with the petite bretonne is signed HR...

Delightful!

Porquier-Beau Bigoudène Porte-Menu...Menu Card

Menu cards were very popular in the last half of the nineteenth century. The Victorian-era hostess always had her social status in mind when planning an event and what was served was just as important as to whom the food was intended.

This menu-card was made between 1895 and 1903 at Quimper's Porquier factory. It is wonderful...all the way from its raised two-toned fleur-de-lis accent...


...to the adorable petite bretonne sitting at the bottom...

...it is an adaptation of a design created by Alfred Beau...planche number 73. She is adorable and wears the early costume of a young woman from the region of Pont-L'Abbé. The scallop-edge form is beautifully-accented in cobalt blue.

Put them all together...

...and you have a fantastic menu card.

Menu cards were all part of the Service à la Française...which meant the kitchen staff presented the food to the hostess who then doled out the portions and, once filled, the plate was passed around to the specific diner. Guests could look at the menu card, see what was to be the fare of the day and let the hostess know how much of what to put on their plate.  Guests were not required nor expected to partake of everything that was listed on the menu. Later, Service à la Russe became the norm...that's where the plate comes from the kitchen already filled and is immediately set in front of the individual diner.

It is signed on the back with the serif-ed PB mark...indicating production between 1895 and 1903.

It measures  5.25 inches high by 3.3125 inches wide. The reverse features a decoratively-pierced easel base that allows it to stand on its own to measure 2.5 inches deep. It is in mint condition...ready for your next soirée...or use it everyday to eliminate the constant cries of "What's for dinner?"

Henriot Butterfly-form Porte Bouquet Mural...Wall Pocket

This wonderful Henriot wall pocket...porte bouquet mural in French...was made so that it incorporates the shape of a butterfly.

The top of the piece features a molded tassel and rope that forms the hole for attaching it to the wall and a petit breton with a fancy red ribbon around his hat sitting down with his pipe in his hand...

The pocket for flowers is formed by a whimsical butterfly...

The wall pocket measures 7.875 inches high, 4.375 inches wide, and 1.5 inches deep. It is in mint condition and is signed on the back Henriot Quimper France 122...

A very cheerful piece!

Matched Pair of Regional Motif Plates by Lachaud

Unusual and unique, this pair of plates was made at the HB factory at the end of the 1920s.

The motif celebrates the Basque Region...a region encompassing four departments of Spain and the three departments in the far southwest corner of France. The design is the work of Adolphe Jean Lachaud (1889-1952).

Lachaud was born in Paris and was studying at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts...one of the world's most prestigious fine arts schools...when he discovered Brittany. He would soon leave Paris to live in Brittany but managed to continue to exhibit at the grand art salons of Paris.

Each plate measures 9.125 inches in diameter and is signed on the back as shown below.

The condition is excellent; both plates have inconsequential bits of kiln dust and the plate with the man has a spot on the edge at "5 o'clock" that has been restored.

Appearance is fantastic!

Vintage Clay "Santons" from the Chave Santonerie in Aubagne



I wrote santons in quotes, because, in the strictest sense, santons are figures representing villagers of Provence...therefore, technically, because they represent citizens of other French provinces, these clay figures are not officially santons. However, they were made at the small workshop of a historic santonerie...that of Marius Chave of Aubagne...a town east of Marseille...and they each exhibit the same attention to costume detail.

There are six in all; about 5.5" high...some a bit taller, some a bit shorter. They have the wonderful patina of authentic age; in reasonably good condition...each has a bit of paint loss here and there and one has gold paint smudges on her forehead and coiffe. The original box has seen better days, but it did its job of protecting the figures!

They are crafted of terre cuite earthenware...the exposed clay is a deep, red color...and from the looks of the original box...they probably date from the 1930s.


Reminiscent of the old santons of Provence, they are a wonderful example of individual hand work...and I do mean hand work, as a couple of them have the maker's thumbprints permanently baked into the base.

They would make a delightful addition to a grouping of Quimper pottery!

Malicorne Faïence Figure of Notre Dame du Chêne...Emile Tessier

This figure by the Emile Tessier pottery in Malicorne depicts Notre Dame du Chêne...Our Lady of the Oak Tree. It dates from circa 1930, but commemorates an event that happened centuries ago in the village of Vion...west of Malicorne.

In the fifteenth century, it was customary for the shepherds of the area to end their day by gathering around a particular oak tree for a moment of prayer. They were attracted to that specific spot by the doves that fluttered around the trees and a special quality of light that seemed to highlight the crown of one particular tree. Eventually, a local priest placed a statue of the Virgin and Child in the crook of its main branches and soon the faithful shepherds were placing flowers by the statue.

Nevers Motto Pitcher...Emile Georges Faïencerie

A French faïence pitcher that will delight both wine connoisseurs and medical professionals with its design and sense of humor. The hand-painted motto reads Replacez médecine et pharmaciens Par un bon verre du vin...which translates to "Replace doctors and pharmacists With a good glass of wine".

It dates from circa 1930 and was made in Nevers at the faïencerie run by Emile Georges...it has the factory mark on the bottom...

The faïencerie was originally founded in Nevers in 1898; Emile Georges began working there when the business was owned by Félicien Collard who had taken over the firm in 1908. It was Collard who first used the double green knotted ribbons as the pottery signature. Emile Georges took over the company in 1926. The factory remains in business today, run by fourth generation Georges.

Blue and yellow-gold stripes and a cheerful floral pattern provide decorative accent...the pitcher will hold a healthy measure of wine as it stands 6.5 inches high, and is 6 inches wide including the handle, and 4.5 inches wide measuring just the body. It has a few small glaze-only dings along the top rim...understandable both for a faïence piece of this vintage...and when you consider that it was used to serve wine..meaning the person doing the pouring might not have always been totally sober!

Authentic Vintage Chemin de Fer d'Orléans "Bretagne" Poster by Charles Hallo

The emblematic view of Quimper's rue Kéréon is the theme of this  fabulous original poster designed by Charles Hallo in 1919.

In the late nineteenth-early twentieth century, if you lived in the area of Brittany known as Finistère, the town of Quimper was where you had to go for any important administrative transaction.

The family in the foreground is dressed in the traditional "important occasion/administrative transaction" costume of the commune of Pont-l'Abbé...less than fifteen miles southwest of Quimper.

The train service connecting Paris with the hinterlands of Brittany prompted the creation of several wonderful posters promoting railway travel to the region, but this is the only one to single out the famous pottery town of Quimper!

Whether you're a railway buff, a Francophile, or someone who knows and appreciates good graphics...this is a fantastic poster!

Quimper's rue Kéréon is gloriously drawn by the noted poster artist Charles Hallo...who created his works using the name "Alo".

Here's a recent photograph taken from a similar vantage point...
...not much has changed...rue Kéréon remains one of the principal shopping streets of Old Town Quimper.

In an interesting play of light, the poster shows Cathédrale St. Corentin  highlighted in the background while the colorfully-dressed family strolls in the foreground. The statue of King Gradlon overlooks the comings and goings...just as it does today...

The medieval buildings, the bretons and bretonnes going about their business...it's just fantastic! It was printed in 1919 and features the early crest of the town of Quimper...

 The cerf or stag shown on the crest, called a karv in the Breton language, is a Celtic symbol for the beginning of life, specifically the renewal of life in the Otherworld.

The colors and attention to detail are great...to the left is a closer view of the family going about their business...the petit breton taking charge of the umbrella!

The poster has been professional lined and measures 32" by 44" The image size is 29" by 41". The image and colors are absolutely spectacular! It is in amazing condition...if you're familiar with poster grading ...this is in A- condition. (If you're not familiar with the grading system for posters...that's basically as good as you'll ever find).

You know we don't use the term "rare" very often...but this Brittany travel poster is incredibly rare. Back then, posters were disposable...simply adhered to walls or bulletin boards and certainly never intended to be saved.

Hallo's distinctive signature is to the lower left...
...and the printer's markings are along the bottom...

This is an extremely rare opportunity to own an authentic vintage Chemin de Fer poster featuring the town of Quimper!

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