FRENCH FAIENCE.--NEVERS, ROUEN, BEAUVAIS, ETC.
Number of Manufactories.--Their Rise and
Decline.--Nevers.--Prices.--Beauvais.--Rouen.--Moustiers.--Strasbourg,
or Haguenau.--Marseilles.--Sarreguemines.--Sinceny, Nancy, Creil,
Montpellier.--Paris.--Paris to-day.--Limoges.--Deck.
Of French faiences, the _Palissy_ ware and the _Henri-Deux_ have been
already treated.
I now propose to give some account of the most prominent among the very
large number of potteries which, in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and
eighteenth centuries, sprang up in various parts of France. Mr.
Chaffers, in his work upon "Pottery," etc., enumerates one hundred and
sixty-five factories which in 1790 petitioned the National Assembly that
they might not be ruined by the floods of cheap pottery then being sent
in from England; and this was not the whole number in France.
Great skill and much good taste have been expended upon the faiences of
France, and some of the work rises into the region of art. Much of that
found in collections and museums is of this kind. But it should not be
forgotten that the great purpose and business of those manufactories was
the production of dishes, plates, and services, for the table--for the
uses of life. And in this direction the production in France was very
large and profitable, until the time when, as said above, the
introduction of cheap wares from England ruined the makers. These
disastrous changes and whimseys of trade, disagreeable as they may be to
the masters and the workmen who are ruined, do give a certain zest and
variety to human history; they relieve life from the monotony and
dullness which usually attends upon unbroken prosperity. As some of the
_doctrinaires_ tell us, they are really blessings--often very much in
disguise; at least, they seem so to those who are the immediate
sufferers.
Nearly the whole of the French potteries went down about the period of
the great Revolution, from the effects of the wares introduced from
England, and the troubles growing out of the political disorders. Within
this last quarter of a century a noted revival has come to this most
interesting industry, of which some notice will be made hereafter.
It is the fine examples of the work of the older potteries which
collectors are desirous to get.
_Marks_ are often found upon pieces of the faiences of France, the delft
of Holland, etc.; but I do not reproduce them here, partly because they
are much less important than those on the porcelains, and partly because
we should have almost no occasion for their use.
NEVERS.--It is supposed that at Nevers was made the first enameled
pottery in France, in the days of Catherine de' Medicis. M. Broc de
Ségange, in his work "La Faïence, les Faïenciers et les Émailleurs de
Nevers,"[6] traces the beginning of the work to an Italian named
_Conrad_, who probably came to France with the queen, and was
naturalized in 1578. He and his brothers began the manufacture about
that time. Another famous potter there was _Pierre Custode_.
It was inevitable that the early faience of Nevers should bear a
likeness to that which had grown up so rapidly in Italy, and had
impressed itself so vividly upon the artistic mind of Europe. But it was
not an imitation. We have little if any examples of this work in our
country, and I give Marryat's brief distinction:
"The Nevers pottery differs in many points from its Italian original.
The outlines of the figures are traced in violet, the flesh in yellow.
The red color is seldom used, but a copper-green is peculiar to this
ware. Blue and yellow are the predominating colors, separated by a line
of white. The sea is represented by undulating lines of blue, in the
style of Orazio Fontana, and the Urbino school. The lips of the ewers
are in the form of leaves, the handles in that of dragons."
[Illustration: FIG 80.--_Faïences of Nevers._]
Demmin separates the work done here into four styles or periods, as
follows:
"1. The Italian, 1602 to 1670.
"2. The Persian, about 1640.
"3. The Chinese and Dutch, 1640 to 1750.
"4. The popular and patriotic, about 1789."
The examples shown (Fig. 80) are of the later periods, and partake of a
general character which prevailed at other manufactories of the periods
in France.
The colors during the Persian period were often effective, and the
lapis-lazuli blue was rich.
A very great quantity of plates, vases, dishes, etc., was made, many of
them rude and cheap, during the time of the French Revolution, which
were decorated with revolutionary emblems, pictures of the destruction
of the Bastile, with the liberty-cap, and with patriotic cries, such as
"_Liberté, égalité, ou mort!_" and "_Vive le roi citoyen!_"
At the beginning of the eighteenth century there were twelve
manufactories, or "_fabriques_," in full blast at Nevers. At the present
time there is a very considerable production of faience at Nevers, much
of which is only the imitations or reproductions of that made in the
earlier centuries. Nothing of special interest, so far as I know, was
shown at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia.
At the Bernal sale was "No. 1981: A pair of bottles of Nevers ware,
light blue, spirally fluted with dark-blue flowers; twelve inches high.
Eleven pounds.--_J. S. Forbes, Esq._"
BEAUVAIS.--How early pottery was made at Beauvais is not certainly
known; one of the earliest notices is of a pot of Charles VI. in 1399,
"Un godet de terre de Beauvais, garny d'argent;" and Rabelais mentions
this work more than once, in this way, "Une salière de terre; et ung
goubelet de Beauvoys," etc. Various pieces of this very quaint and
interesting pottery are extant in the museums of Europe. The great plate
we illustrate is in the Imperial Library at Paris, and bears the date of
1511 (Fig. 81). It is of fine paste, and is about seventeen inches in
diameter. Its ornaments are in relief, and are the arms of France and of
Brittany at that period. Many elaborate and decorative pieces were made
here, and some of them were designed and were used for presents to
distinguished personages who visited the city. Not only were these
works of luxury made, but large quantities of household work were
manufactured for the uses of France; and there was a very considerable
export of it to England.
[Illustration: FIG. 81.--_Beauvais Pottery._]
ROUEN.--One of the most extensive productions of pottery in France began
at Rouen as early as 1542; and after 1640 were made here many large and
highly-decorated pieces, of which we give some illustrations. Just when
work of this kind was first produced does not clearly appear; but a very
considerable number of fabriques were established in this city, and many
men and women were employed. There is no question that at one time the
potteries of Delft had a considerable influence upon the work at Rouen,
and much that was then made
[Illustration: FIG. 82.--_Rouen Faience._]
showed traces of imitation. Pieces of large size were produced, such as
fountains, vases, busts, figures and figurines, and even mantel-pieces.
Work was done for the table, some of which holds high rank. When Louis
XIV. sent his silver to be minted in 1713, to pay for his extravagant
wars, he had it replaced by a service made at Rouen. Some pieces in the
Sèvres Museum, marked with the _fleur-de-lis_, may have belonged to
this.
[Illustration: FIG. 83.--_Rouen Faience._]
Many of the rich and the noble followed his example, and the result was
that a marvelous impulse was given to the increase and the perfection of
the faiences at Rouen. Before the final closing of the works, about
1789 or 1790, some eighteen extensive fabriques were in active work.
The variety of articles made at Rouen was very great, ranging from
salt-cellars and candlesticks to mantel-pieces and stoves.
[Illustration: FIG. 84.--_Rouen Faience._]
The paste of the Rouen faience is stronger than that of Delft, and the
pieces I have seen show a reddish clay through the breaks of the enamel.
Many of the paintings indicate much taste and skill. It seems to me that
this work is marked by more originality, and by a finer perception of
the fit and the beautiful, than any other French pottery. The pieces
shown in Figs. 82 and 83, as far as engravings can do it, prove this.
They do not show the variety and the richness of color which distinguish
much of the best work.
The early Rouen work, in a considerable degree following the Delft, was
painted, as some suppose, by men brought from there. Imitations of the
Chinese at one time were in vogue; and a good deal of work was done in
blue--_en camaïeu_--in one color only. But the colored or polychrome
Rouen is most distinctive, most brilliant, and most desired. One of the
styles most sought for is termed _à la corne_, showing cornucopias
combined with flowers and birds. It is very effective. The example
engraved is a beautiful plate from Mr. Wales's collection at Boston
(Fig. 84). Many pieces of this ware are in existence, and they are found
in all the museums and in many private collections of Europe. Mrs. Moses
Ives, at Providence, has some perfect examples, gathered by her from old
houses in Rhode Island. Her belief is, that they got into Rhode Island
from ships captured by privateers and brought into Newport, where their
cargoes were sold and scattered. It seems probable.
MOUSTIERS.--Within the last twenty-five years the faience of Moustiers
has been separated from that of other places in France, into which it
had once been merged.
The little town in the department of the _Lower Alps_ seems to have had
a fabrique as early as 1686, when the records mention the name of
_Antoine Clerissy_ as _maître fayensier_. Two other names are known as
master-potters of that town--_Olery_ and _Roux_. All these made
ornamental work of an excellent class, some of which is much valued.
Three styles of decoration are assigned to these potters. The earliest
is recognized as being painted in blue camaieu (in one color), with
subjects--hunting-scenes, escutcheons and armorial bearings,
country-scenes, figures of the time of Louis XIV., etc. Most of these
are assigned to Clerissy.
The second style runs from about 1700 to 1745. "The specimens of this
period are better known to amateurs, and not so rare; they are also
decorated in blue camaieu, with highly-finished and gracefully-interlaced
patterns, among which are Cupids, satyrs and nymphs, terminal figures,
garlands of flowers, masks, etc.; and canopies resting on consoles, or
brackets, from which hangs drapery bordered or framed with foliage and
hatched spaces; mythological personages, vases of flowers, and other
designs, being frequently introduced; the centre subjects are classical
or _champêtre_ figures in costume of the time, sometimes coats-of-arms.
Some of the faience of this period is painted in cobalt-blue in the
Chinese style, which M. Davillier attributes to Pol Roux, and refers to
a similar plate in the Sèvres collection bearing the arms of _le grand
Colbert_." In this style there is evidently a following of the maiolicas
of Italy in what is known as the Raffaelesque ware. But that was never,
I believe, painted in blue.
[Illustration: FIG. 85.--_Faience of Moustiers._]
The third style, running from 1745 to 1789, is almost always painted in
polychrome; the colors are blue, brown, yellow, green, and violet.
Garlands of flowers, fruits, and foliage, are used. Mythological
subjects also appear--Cupids, medallions, gods and goddesses, etc. To
this class apparently belongs our illustration (Fig. 85). Some of these
ornamental pieces are well painted, and latterly have been much sought
for, but they do not rank with the work of Nevers or Rouen. At the time
of the French Revolution there was a large industry in pottery at
Moustiers--some twelve fabriques being in full activity. Nearly all have
disappeared,[7] and the town has dwindled into one-third its former
size.
STRASBOURG, OR HAGUENAU.--The beginnings of a faience fabrique here were
probably about 1721. _Hannong_ was a potter, who came to the town from
Germany and established himself at Haguenau, near to or a part of
Strasbourg. This had been a German city until Louis XIV. clutched it and
made it French and Catholic. In 1870 the Germans took it back, and are
now converting it to German and Protestant. The faience made here has
never taken so high a place as that made at the other fabriques I have
mentioned. But some of the decorated pieces--vases especially--were of
good form and pleasing coloring. The most common painting was roses and
flowers, in a free, bold, and rather rough style. Sometimes this has
been confounded with delft; but it is quite different. It more resembles
the pottery made at Marseilles.
Some of the marks on the faience are like those on the porcelain which
was made here for a short time; these were an "H." or "P. H." combined,
indicating the maker's name--_Hannong_.
The MARSEILLES potteries were in full activity at the beginning of the
1700's--a single piece exists which is marked 1697. In the middle of
this century the number of fabriques had increased to some twelve,
employing about two hundred and fifty workmen. All have gone down.
The faience made here followed that of Moustiers for its best work, and
that of Strasbourg for the more common. The flower-painting done here is
said to be distinct from that of Strasbourg, in that the flowers are
perceptibly raised by the paint; while in that of Strasbourg the
painting is melted into the glaze. A very pleasing style of classic
vases, made here in the time of Louis XV., are painted in camaieu
rose-color, the wreaths and ornaments often being in relief.
At SARREGUEMINES, in the Moselle country, very beautiful faience was
made in the last century--about 1775--some of which was highly finished
in the lathe. Work was made there, too, with white figures on blue and
colored grounds, much resembling the jasper ware made by Wedgwood.
There is an extensive pottery now at work at Sarreguemines, in which
great quantities of domestic pottery are made for the market.
At SINCENY, NANCY, CREIL, MONTPELLIER, and many other small places,
potteries were at work in the last century; few, if any, of which
continued beyond the great Revolution.
PARIS, too, had many small fabriques of faience, but none of them
reached much importance. The name of _Briot_ is yet kept in mind.
TO-DAY (1876) France has burst into a great blossoming, not only of
porcelain, but of decorative faience.
In Paris, _Collinot_ has made a style of relief-enamel, in imitation of
_cloisonné_, which is rich and effective in color, and often very
beautiful; many have followed him.
BARBIZÔT has made and is making the imitations of Palissy better than
Palissy himself.
BRIANCHON has made and perfected a lustrous ware like mother-of-pearl,
which he calls "_Nacre_;" it is pretty and fanciful, and is very like
what is made in Ireland, and called _Belleek_.
DURAND RUEL had, in his exhibitions in 1875, some of the most superb and
richly-colored faience-vases I have ever seen; but the name of their
manufacturer was not made known.
LAURIN, CHAPELET, and some other artists at Bourg-la-Reine, struck out a
style of faience-painting about the same time--1874 to 1875--which, for
richness and mystery of color, freedom and force of design, and for
_delicious_ treatment--if I may call it so--has rarely been surpassed.
It is original, and different from anything the Orientals have done, and
quite as good.
[Illustration: FIG. 86.--_Limoges Faience._]
The HAVILANDS, at Limoges, have gone on with this work, and have not let
it falter; their exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876 was excellent. I
venture to include my notes made at the Exhibition:
But, in the way of earthen-ware, nothing in the French or English
exhibits is at all equal to the vases, bottles, etc., shown by Haviland,
from Limoges. These, we were told frankly and with all desire to
[Illustration: FIG. 87.--_Limoges Faience._]
give the artists their due share, were modeled by Lindencher and painted
by Lafon (we hope we have their names right). The forms of the pots and
the relief-modelings are bold, unconventional, and excellent. The artist
has studied Nature, and art also, but not to copy. This is true too of
Lafon, whose lavish and daring use of color is remarkable. Nothing is
niggled or petty, as in this kind of work nothing should be. As examples
of real art, they are equal to the best work of China and Japan; and a
true man would wish rather a hundred such vases as the Pennsylvania
Industrial Museum has bought, than one of those great vases from Sèvres
which stand in the French picture-gallery. This is the same kind of
art-work which for a few years has been done by Chapelet and a little
band of artists near Paris, some of which has been brought to Boston by
the Household Art Company, and has had a tedious sale. These painters
are artists in color. Bold and strange as the work is, nothing is
glaring, showy, bright, or flashy; throughout there is that reserve
which indicates strength and creates confidence.
I give also some illustrations of their work, which in a faint degree
exhibit its excellence. The color cannot be expressed (Figs. 86 and 87).
DECK, of Paris, should not be forgotten. I believe he is an Alsatian;
he, his brother, and sister, are all fine specimens of the
German-French; they have been at work since 1859 in producing some of
the most beautiful things to be made; and the work done there now sells
at high prices. T. Deck is himself an artist; but many others are
engaged there in making flower, figure, and other paintings. Their
exhibitions at London have attracted much attention, and their
productions have been quickly sold.
No doubt other artists are to-day engaged at Paris in this fascinating
work, which is attracting so much attention, and feeding well the desire
for the useful and the beautiful.
Great establishments, with hundreds of workmen, are now in full activity
at _Nevers_, at _Gien_, at _Nancy_, producing wares at low prices, which
have much merit, and for every-day uses are good. Mostly they follow the
old designs, and attempt little else. As they do not pretend that these
are anything more than that, and as the prices are very reasonable, they
reach a great sale.