19th Century French Hand Painted Blue and White Faience Ewer Signed HR Quimper

$1,500

About

This elegant and colorful antique ewer was sculpted in Brittany, France, circa 1890. The unique large pitcher stands on a octagonal shaped base and features a large scrolling handle over the tall neck with a wide mouth. The jug is in excellent condition with rich colors in the blue and white palette, and is marked HR on the bottom. The HR underlined mark of Camille Moreau who worked at the Henriot pottery from 1891 to 1895. Quimper pottery has a long history. Tin-glazed, hand painted pottery has been made in Quimper, France since the late seventeenth century. The earliest firm, founded in 1685 by Jean Baptiste Bousquet, was known as HB Quimper. Another firm, founded in 1772 by Francois Eloury, was known as Porquier. The third firm, founded by Guillaume Dumaine in 1778, was known as HR or Henriot Quimper. All three firms made similar pottery decorated with designs of Breton peasants and sea and flower motifs. The Eloury (Porquier) and Dumaine (Henriot) firms merged in 1913. Bousquet (HB) merged with the others in 1968. The group was sold to a United States family in 1984. More changes followed, and in 2011 Jean-Pierre Le Goff became the owner and the name was changed to Henriot-Quimper. The French firm has been called Societe Nouvelle des Faienceries de Quimper HB Henriot since March 1984. Pottery was made in Quimper when the city was part of the Roman Empire, long before tin-glazed pottery was being made.

8″ Diameter 17.5″H.

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