The Town, The People and The Pottery
Volume 23 Number 8
January 2022
January 2022
The western-most part of the continent of Europe, this is a 1683 map of Brittany. Quimper is located to the left of center, above a small island and noted with its name at that time...Quimper-Corentin.
Quimper...pronounced "kem-pair"...is a town in northwestern France. It is also a people and a pottery.
To the people of Quimper, the town name is Kemper, which in their language describes a confluence of rivers. ("Quimper" is a somewhat nonsensical rendition as not all the Breton dialects have a "Q" and a true French pronunciation would be different from the actual "kem-pair"). At any rate, "confluence of rivers" is an apt description, as the town is situated at the juncture of two rivers, the Odet and the Steir. Two other rivers, the Jet and the Frout, are close-by, but travel underground through the town limits. Historically, this close proximity to rivers meant an ideal place to establish a pottery factory and thus, Quimper has been a pottery town for centuries. Its "recent" history of continuous pottery production begins in 1708. (Previous accounts put the date as 1690, but history is not written in stone and recent findings have provided further information).
By the last decade of the nineteenth century, three pottery factories were operating in the town of Quimper. One was the Porquier factory, another was known as the Grande Maison or De la Hubaudière factory, and the third, owned by Jules Henriot, was called the Faïencerie d’Art Breton. Tin-glazed earthenware, known in France as faïence, was a popular product, especially pieces that were hand-painted with scenes depicting life in the region of Brittany.
The making of faïence is an art. Especially in the early days, prior to the introduction of more modern methods, when both the technical and artistic skills necessary to make a piece of faïence were quite daunting. Extremely difficult to master its making, I've been known to liken faïence to being the "puff pastry" of pottery production.
The use of an opaque tin glaze is one factor that distinguishes faïence from other types of pottery...pieces made by this process were known as faïence in France, Spain, Germany, and Austria; in the Netherlands, they were called Delft; in England, the term was Delftware; and in Renaissance Italy, such pieces were called maiolica...not to be confused with majolica, that's actually a trade name of the Minton pottery in England for a Victorian-era product made using substantially different glazes and production methods.
The tradition of Quimper faïence production continues today. But much like the comparison of a Model T with a current Ford Motor Company product, today’s Quimper is very different from vintage Quimper. In many fields of collecting there is a line of demarcation; for Quimper pottery that line is World War II. Modern techniques and machinery introduced in the days after World War II resulted in the creation of a different product. Vintage Quimper refers to pieces made prior to that time period; later production falls into the collectible genre.
Here at www.oldquimper.com, we specialize in vintage Quimper and invite you to come along as we further explore old Quimper...The Town, The People, and The Pottery. If you've just joined us, since 1999 we've been using these pages to extol upon 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.
Each month, this depiction of King Gradlon by Quimper-born artist Pierre Toulhoat (1923-2014) will herald in a new article about Quimper...The Town, The People and The Pottery.
For the past several issues of www.oldquimper.com, we've been presenting a series of articles designed to provide a primer on the history of Quimper...a sort of abridged and updated version of the story behind The Town, The People and The Pottery. We hope to educate collectors...correcting some long-standing and stubborn misinformation...so that fans of Quimper pottery will become more comfortable with the whys and wherefores of Quimper and what makes it so special. It's also a good lesson in remembering that history is not written in stone and that our knowledge of it can indeed change.
Reminder: in many instances, clicking on the photos will lead to a larger image and please take note that the names and dates given may be entirely different from what you hear or read from various sources. This is an updated and corrected history of Quimper pottery, designed to provide a clear illustration of how styles and techniques from Provence, Nevers and Rouen came together to create the enduring fascination that is Quimper pottery.
In case you just joined our on-going discussion of the history of Quimper pottery…we've made our way from the very beginning of "modern-day" Quimper pottery...Pierre Bousquet's founding of a factory in 1708...following his enterprise through the French Revolution, the beginnings of local competition in the marketplace and the inevitable effects of death and taxes. We focused first on the factory that started it all...what came to be popularly known as HB Quimper or La Grande Maison and then turned to those that followed...the Eloury/Porquier pottery, and then after that, another competing pottery...one that came to be known as Henriot and after that, the Fouillen pottery.
Since we're reviewing the history of Quimper's potteries in chronological order based on the date of their opening, the next up was the Keraluc pottery.
In case you just joined our on-going discussion of the history of Quimper pottery…we've made our way from the very beginning of "modern-day" Quimper pottery...Pierre Bousquet's founding of a factory in 1708...following his enterprise through the French Revolution, the beginnings of local competition in the marketplace and the inevitable effects of death and taxes. We focused first on the factory that started it all...what came to be popularly known as HB Quimper or La Grande Maison and then turned to those that followed...the Eloury/Porquier pottery, and then after that, another competing pottery...one that came to be known as Henriot and after that, the Fouillen pottery.
Since we're reviewing the history of Quimper's potteries in chronological order based on the date of their opening, the next up was the Keraluc pottery.
Now into our 23rd year of monthly articles about Quimper, we are in the midst of documenting the history of the Keraluc pottery, founded in August of 1946 by Victor Lucas. We began by looking at the unique combination of skills and experience that make Lucas such an important factor in the historic longevity of Quimper pottery. Many potteries existed in France in the 18th and 19th centuries, but one by one, they fell victim to stagnation...styles change, techniques evolve...and the potteries that didn't adapt were forced to shut down and close their doors. This was the case for even large centers of pottery production...in the case of Rouen, for example...by the 1850s, the last historic pottery there had gone out of business.
In our last issue, we followed Lucas' training at Sèvres and illustrated his employment at Henriot with examples that revealed his own talent for design as well as the designs of others made possible by the technical production improvements he implemented. Improvements that led to innovative ceramics produced at Henriot based on the designs of the likes of Jeanne Malivel, René-Yves Creston and Gaston Broquet. We showed you award-winning pieces displayed at special exhibitions...pieces by Georges Géo-Fourrier and Émile Adolphe Monier...that brought considerable prestige to Henriot. Finally, further illustrating the influence of Victor Lucas was a monumental sculpture created by Yvonne Jean-Haffen that was a star of the show at a 1937 exhibition.
In our last issue, we followed Lucas' training at Sèvres and illustrated his employment at Henriot with examples that revealed his own talent for design as well as the designs of others made possible by the technical production improvements he implemented. Improvements that led to innovative ceramics produced at Henriot based on the designs of the likes of Jeanne Malivel, René-Yves Creston and Gaston Broquet. We showed you award-winning pieces displayed at special exhibitions...pieces by Georges Géo-Fourrier and Émile Adolphe Monier...that brought considerable prestige to Henriot. Finally, further illustrating the influence of Victor Lucas was a monumental sculpture created by Yvonne Jean-Haffen that was a star of the show at a 1937 exhibition.
We showed you this side in last month's issue...
Here's the other side...
The sculpture traces the traditional steps that go into the production of a piece of Quimper...including forming the piece, decorating it and then transporting it to the kiln for the final firing.
Standing almost five feet tall, it is said to have been completed...design to finished product...in only three weeks. Another testament to the skills of Victor Lucas !
With the success of the various exhibitions, Lucas was free to further experiment and upgrade Henriot's production techniques...
...this is a Victor Lucas cider service...
...sculpted with raised-relief fruit...
...that I photographed as it sat on the counter of Josig Henriot's kitchen. (Josig is the grandson of Jules Henriot).
Another sculptural example...
...one can imagine the joy of a gift of bonbons made even more special when presented in this Victor Lucas-designed "house"...complete with petit breton in the doorway.
Two Victor Lucas chargers...one almost 20 inches in diameter with a scene featuring Jesus, Simon and Mary Magdalene as the central motif...
...the other is 16 inches in diameter with an animated Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve; both chargers date from 1938.
Another Victor Lucas pièce unique from this era:
...a 16 inch charger depicting the town of Combrit.
This Lucas-designed plate gives a modern twist to a classic motif used on the traditional costumes worn in the Bigouden region of Finistère.
As if all this wasn't enough, Lucas also taught an art class in Quimper from 1925 to 1941...the project ending with the classroom site being requisitioned by the Occupying Forces. The events of World War II also affected the operations at Quimper's potteries. Supplies and commands were strictly regulated and personnel were closely scrutinised. When the technical director at HB was suddenly fired, Lucas left Henriot and after 18 years at Henriot, he was now fulfilling that role at HB.
Lucas remained at HB for four years,...difficult years...but ones in which he contributed to the modernisation of the kilns and created "go-arounds" for the frequent times when materials were missing or altered. He also devoted what should have been free time to training and giving lessons in art history to the factory employees. With the advent of the Liberation, Lucas made what looked to be an about face...leaving Quimper to work in Paris for the Direction of Mines. But this move was designed to afford him additional knowledge necessary for creating his own successful enterprise as well as some important contacts.
The idea of starting his own pottery was not a sudden happenstance...it was years and years in the making with correspondence as early as 1928 describing Lucas' dream. The contacts he made while in Paris accelerated the financial aspect of his dream and things quickly began to take shape. With financial backers in hand, Lucas sought a suitable site for his vision but finding nothing in Locmaria, he instead purchased a parcel of land next to his own family residence when it became available.
Construction began in April of 1946, but stopped abruptly the following month when the crew discovered the remains of a Roman Empire-era necropolis. Archeologists were called in and the burial site revealed a vast number of funeral urns.
In this illustration from "Archéologie de Quimper, matériaux pour servir l'histoire" the Roman settlement in Quimper is delineated...light pink represents the urban Locmaria area; Creac'h-Maria...where the Keraluc pottery was located...is shown in orange and marks the burial site; the bright pink shows where the temples and sanctuaries were located. The red and green lines represent the important roads...the green line crossing the river is where the current Quimper city center is located...and marks where the tide made the river fordable two times a day.
Once given the green light, construction resumed and a small production building was outfitted with two electric kilns.
The location had some strikes against it...it was in a residential neighborhood that was not conducive to commercial activity and worse yet it was right next to Lucas' house which made it tempting to work extended hours and, in addition, at that time it was located outside of the city limits of Quimper. (The potteries that were within the city limits jealously guarded the privilege of including "Quimper" in their factory identities...Lucas got around that by marking pieces "près Quimper" meaning near Quimper). By 1947 another building...this one to be used as a decorating studio...was completed and before long another was built...to free up the cave or cellar of the family home which had been "requisitioned" for use as a client meeting place and factory showroom.
Vintage views of the by-then abandoned Keraluc pottery
Lucas' vision of a pottery that was intended to be different than Henriot and HB.
In his pottery inauguration speech on August 24, 1946, Lucas noted that " We want to make Keraluc a living center of art, here no pastiche, no déja vu. We want all our regional artists to be able to express themselves freely. We will draw heavily from the fertile sources of the true or legendary history of Armorica to inspire our creations".
By 1948, the pottery had twelve employees and had already attracted a number of artists who were drawn to Keraluc by the opportunity to create art pottery independently without undue pressure and with the added bonus of receiving a full third of sale proceeds.
A vintage shop sign for Keraluc.
Lucas continued to design and create pieces...illustrating his commitment to drawing upon historical themes he had noted in his inauguration speech.
Lucas' Celtic vase...filled with raised-relief references to people and events relating the history of Brittany.
One of the original sketches for the piece...
...signed and dated December 1947.
It's a large vase...about 16 inches by 16 inches...and has four panels...the side prominently displayed in the first photograph and on the left in the photo above features Les Rois et Les Ducs..the Kings and Dukes. On the right in the above photo is a peek at the design called Les Saints...
A third side...
...featured Les Arts et Les Metiers"...emblematic arts and professions of the region...
...and, last but not least, a fourth panel which gave the vase its name...
...Les Celts
Two years later, Lucas sculpted this fantastic chess set...
...featuring polar-exploration inspired figures fashioned by Victor Lucas after a design by Luc Marie Bayle.
Bayle (1914-2000) was a man of many talents...he served in the French Navy both on the sea where he documented his activities by painting watercolors and on land, where he worked as a press secretary. His artistic talents did not go unnoticed and he was named an official marine painter. The chess set was a unique command...designed by Bayle and sculpted by Lucas in 1949 for Max Douguet (1903-1989) . In 1948, Douquet was named the Commandant of a ship charged with a scientific mission in Antartica. Hence the figures of penguins, walruses, whales and the like.
It was exhibited in 1949 at the first French Ceramic Art Exhibition in Paris...resulting in Lucas being awarded a top prize.
That's it for this issue...our exploration of Brittany...its towns, its people and its pottery...will continue in our next webisode. We publish a new issue on or about the first of each month. If you would like an email reminder when a new issue comes out, please contact us at oldquimper@yahoo.com. ...and be sure to check your computer settings...because sometimes unless you change them, we end up in your SPAM folder !