meadows@oldquimper.com

If you've just joined us, since 1999, we've been using these pages to extol the beauty and intrigue of vintage Quimper pottery  and at the same time, do some "traveling"...and, indeed, over the years, we have visited some of the most picturesque towns of Brittany...each one delightfully different.
 

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To serve as a sort of catalyst for our look at Brittany (both old and new), for the past few months we've used as our guide descriptions of the numerous patron saints long venerated by the Bretons.

Through this series of articles, we hope to augment your passion for Quimper pottery and to increase your understanding of the inspiration behind all of its fascinating forms and décors.

Regular readers will recall that we are looking at each saint and making the connection with his or her specific dedication in the order in which they are listed on every kitchen calendar in Brittany.

If, by chance, you find yourself not the slightest bit familiar with some of them, remember that when it comes to saintly matters, the Bretons definitely believe in abundance.

Brittany observes the lives of many saints...not all of whom could be called mainstream...and at times, to those unaccustomed to the ways of the Celts, Brittany seems to have more saints than all of the rest of France combined for many of Brittany's patron saints have not been sanctioned by the Vatican and some are only known and celebrated within the confines of a single hamlet.

Saint Yves, shown above as depicted by the potters of Quimper...one of a number of figural saints displayed at the Musée de la Faïence...enjoys world-wide popularity but he is particularly venerated in Brittany. A thirteenth century Breton from Tréguier...northeast of Quimper...he is the patron saint of both lawyers and the poor...this combination a result of his initiating what would come to be known as legal aid. He died on May 19, 1303 and the pardon or annual pilgrimage in his honor is held in Tréguier each May amidst a crowd of colorfully costumed spectators...including many connected with the legal profession.

In our most recent issue of www.oldquimper.com, our focus was on a saint who is also honored by those he protects...Saint Hubert, whose feast day is celebrated on the third of November. As regular readers may recall, Saint Hubert was a seventh century member of the royal family of Aquitaine who lived a rather "unsaintly" existence.  It is said that when the rest of the community was at church, he was usually out hunting until that one day...a Good Friday...when he encountered a crucifix-adorned deer who convinced him to lead a more pious existance.

This is a granite carving of that encounter; it adorns the entrance to the Chapel of Saint Hubert at the Château d'Amboise in the Loire Valley. The remains of Leonardo de Vinci lie in this chapel. The Breton connection with the Château d'Amboise...indeed many of the châteaux of the Loire Valley as well as other parts of France...is that it was a residence of François Ier, the son-in-law of Anne de Bretagne.

As Saint Hubert is the patron to hunters and animals, we chose that opportunity to illustrate last month's issue with a variety of animals that grace the grounds of the Château de la Bourbansais near Dinan along with several depictions of animals that emerged from the kilns operated by the potters of Quimper. As the number of examples were far too numerous to confine to just one issue, we intended to continue with that theme in this issue.

Alas, a couple of things put that plan to rest.

First, as anyone who has had to deal with training a new team member or associate can attest, it requires an extraordinary amount of time and patience...and when the trainee happens to be a member of the family as well...the work is exponentially compounded. You can't very well fire a relative for incompetency or malicious mischief no matter how many times you have to repeat an admonition.

And so, we have Jean-Pierre causing small collisions among the Tour de France models who "ride" across our mantel as a Porquier figure of Saint Yves looks on in horror and I try to work.

Or you have him worming his way under the laptop where he likes to match me keystroke for keystroke as I attempt to write. Sometimes he "works" the American "Qwerty" version built into the laptop, while I try in vain to override his efforts with the French "Azerty" attachment shown in the foreground. (Actually if this issue ever sees the light of cyberspace, it will be a minor miracle, as he has currently decided to modify the monitor display...apparently of the opinion that there was no need for an address bar and his dancing on the keys has produced some quite interesting essays...long, but interesting).

So for the May issue I had every intention to show you examples of Quimper pottery with hunting scenes...

...like this charger by Pierre Toulhoat made at the Keraluc pottery...

or illustrate Saint Hubert's patronage to the canine world with images of dogs...

...like the one running home on this eighteenth century  HB plate with a Nevers-inspired scene.

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