HR Henriot Factory Marks
The Henriot factory could trace its roots back to a former employee of the Grande Maison, Guillaume du Maine, who left to start his own factory in Quimperlé...southeast of Quimper... around 1778, before relocating to Quimper in 1789. (Remember that in order to be considered as genuine Quimper pottery, a piece has to have been made within the town of Quimper).
Markings found on pieces from this factory, known variously as Manufactures de Faïences, Poteries et Grès Jules Henriot-Tanquerey, Manufacture de Faïencerie d'Art Breton Jules Henriot, and Faïencerie d'Art Breton Jules Henriot et fils...but generally known as Henriot:
Markings found on pieces from this factory, known variously as Manufactures de Faïences, Poteries et Grès Jules Henriot-Tanquerey, Manufacture de Faïencerie d'Art Breton Jules Henriot, and Faïencerie d'Art Breton Jules Henriot et fils...but generally known as Henriot:
Notes:
The factory first began producing faïence in 1891 and used the conjoined initials of the owner and his wife..."H" for Henriot and "R" for Riou. In this case the mark was written in green...
...and in this one, in manganese. There does not seem to be any significance to the use of the different colors.
Without the underline underneath the HR, this cannot be positively said to be the official mark of Camille Moreau, although a handwriting expert might be tempted to point out the strong similarities to those pieces that do have the underline. The proof would lie in the décor.
With all the competition from outside factories, the faïenceries in Quimper began to consistently add the word "Quimper" around 1895. (Previous accounts of "Quimper" being added in 1904 are incorrect).
With all the competition from outside factories, the faïenceries in Quimper began to consistently add the word "Quimper" around 1895. (Previous accounts of "Quimper" being added in 1904 are incorrect).
Beginning around 1900, the Henriot factory began to use numbers to identify the specific painter-decorator responsible for the painting of the piece.
In 1922, a legal complaint was filed citing the similarities between the HB mark and the HR mark; Henriot lost and from then on used his full name...although in some cases, the "R" was emphasized.
Marks could be within the decoration, on the bottom or both.
This mark indicates a piece intended for export made after 1922. While this mark was utilized until 1968, the pink-hued clay that appears where the background glaze is thin indicates that this particular piece was made circa 1925.
This is the "f" and "d" mark for the Henriot-based production of Les Faïenceries de Quimper; a piece with this mark dates from 1968 to 1983. The Henriot portion of the mark is a printed stamp and includes entièrement décoré à main in a half circle...the hand-painted portion gives the form as number 5, the décor as number 203, and the identifying initials of the painter as BG.
Backtracking to circa 1920, this is the mark used by the Henriot factory for pieces they produced that incorporated the designs and molds purchased from the holdings of the former Porquier factory. It is distinguished from the original Porquier mark by the inclusion of the number used to identify the painter of the piece. The numbering system was not used at Porquier. Note that in many cases the differences in the glaze colors between a Porquier piece and a later Henriot example is readily apparent...particularly the use of the color orange...an indication of the difference in the color preferences of the customer between the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the period between World War I and World War II.
To see examples of marks from other Quimper potteries, click on the images below that represent the various different Quimper potteries. This will take you to examples of the most commonly found markings for each of the different factories. Please remember that this is presented to serve as a guide and is by no means a complete listing.
