Porquier Factory
Sometime around 1772, the Eloury brothers, Andre and François, former employees at the Grande Maison, left to found their own pottery in Ergué-Armel, today part of Quimper, but at that time a separate community. It would move to Quimper proper in 1779.
Notes:
The mark on a grès bottle: Porquier A
A
Quimper
Because the government imposed more stringent regulations on the production of grès, the marking system for this type of pottery was enforced earlier and more evenly than that for faïence.
A
Quimper
Because the government imposed more stringent regulations on the production of grès, the marking system for this type of pottery was enforced earlier and more evenly than that for faïence.
While the AP mark was registered in 1887, and may have been used earlier, in the majority of pieces seen in today's market, the AP indicates a piece made after 1895 when the factory was directed by Arthur Porquier. It was the mark for pieces that were not decorated with a design created by Alfred Beau. Caution...there were other vintage potteries...in France, Germany. etc...that used an identical conjoined AP mark...again, the colors of the glaze and clay and the type of decoration are far better indicators of age and origin than the mark.
The Porquier-Beau mark...a trefoil formed from a "P" and a sideways "B"...both without serifs...was first registered in 1875 and indicates the association between Alfred Beau and the widow Porquier. It was used on pieces produced at the Porquier factory that had a décor that had been designed by Alfred Beau. It does not signify a piece personally painted by Alfred Beau.
Some variations of the sans serif Porquier-Beau mark:
...with the name of the décor in black...
...or in blue.
Here, the Porquier-Beau mark, generally in blue for the faïence examples, was painted in black on a terre vernisée piece.
Alfred Beau ended his formal arrangement with the Porquier factory in 1894; after that date and until the factory ceased production in 1903...closing its doors for good in 1904...the factory added a serif to the trefoil "PB" mark. Again, the painter-decorators had ingrained habits and there are instances where the earlier, sans serif mark can be found on examples made after 1894.
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.
