The Town, The People and The Pottery
Volume 25 Number 4
September 2023
September 2023
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 extol the virtues of vintage Quimper pottery 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 share the beauty and intrigue of vintage Quimper pottery and, at the same time, do some "traveling" in the Brittany region...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 few months, we've been discussing the markets in Brittany and how they were not just about commerce and acquiring provisions, but how they also served as community gatherings...and, in many cases, a place where young Bretons met and romances flourished. We used old photographs of the historic areas of Quimper to illustrate where various products were sold and traded...including the specific places for buying and trading cattle, sheep, pigs, milk, poultry, eggs and various fruits and vegetables...items and activities that made their way onto Quimper pottery motifs. Right now we're going to pause that topic for a bit..as this being September...it's time for J-P's annual How I Spent My Summer Vacation report. So with no further ado...
I hope you had a happy, healthy and enjoyable summer ! I laid out in the shade mostly...some days were just too hot to consider sun bathing...especially when you factor in that I have this built-in fur coat.
We actually were pretty busy, but did manage to squeeze in a number of events and adventures. For my annual report, I want to share with you Mom's stint volunteering at the annual Discovery Day at the Musée de la Faïence. That's where once a year, people can make an appointment to bring in a piece of Quimper pottery...or, in some cases, what they believe and hope to be Quimper pottery...for identification and possible evaluation.
And make appointments they did...waiting patiently with...no laugh...old, wrinkled-up grocery bags...with, in most cases, nary a piece of bubble wrap or any reasonable semblance of protection...bag after tattered bag with often times more than one piece for Mom to evaluate and/or drool over !
Keeping her cool, despite being knee-deep in Quimper pottery treasures, she still managed to snap off some photos...so here's a look at some of the items people brought in:
From some of the bags, out came pieces that were fairly commonly-found tablewares...decorative, utilitarian and with sentimental value for sure, but perhaps a bit too recent to be high on a collector's list. But other pieces peaked more interest...like this early plate with a petit breton holding a bottle and just visible in the upper corner, another plate with the distinctive striped border of Mathurin Méheut's Service la Mer.
Lots of ooohs and ahhhhs when Mom put this oyster service...HR Quimper triple compote complete with fish handled sauce boat...over on the table set aside for comments from the museum's founder and curator.
Here he is...Bernard Jules Verlingue...grandson and son of Quimper pottery owners...in the museum with an Emma Herland painting in the background...he's examining another piece that Mom pulled out of someone's bag of pottery.
A fantastic Sévellec figural group of a Plougastel petite bretonne with her young infant.
The person who brought it in had no inkling of the importance of Jim-Eugène Sévellec ( 1897-1971) to the realm of Breton art in general and Quimper pottery in particular and Mom was able to provide lots of information to the happy owner.
Another participant brought in this plate...created circa 1960 by Sévellec's son, Joël-Jim (1931-2007 ). It depicts Roi Marc'h...Breton for King Mark...who reigned over the region of Cornouaille in the years 480 to 555.
The pieces brought in ranged from very small plates that had once been displayed in miniature dollhouse furniture to this enormous Henriot Quimper figure of Saint Anne teaching the Virgin Mary to read.
Other pieces had intricate HB Quimper motifs like that on an impressively-large breton broderie vase and, in the foreground, a raised-relief, Celtic-inspired design by René Quillivic used on a surtable or trivet.
A Sicilien-born artist, Giovanni Leonardi ( 1856-1957 ), came to Paris to work on Italy's pavilion at the 1900 World's Fair. Becoming acquainted with the Parisian art scene, he was befriended by Max Jacob who introduced him to Quimper...both the city and its reputation as a center for art pottery.
Leonardi's pieces are often not readily-recognized as being Quimper; this pitcher is one of the pieces he personally created at the HB pottery.
One collector brought in a couple of Fouillen pyrogravure pieces...large wooden chargers with designs that had been burnt into the wood and then painted with bright colors.
Another large Fouillen charger...this time in faïence and painted with an animated aquatic scene...emerged from one bag...
...and a Robert Micheau-Vernez couple from the bigouden region popped out of another...Mom was in hog heaven !
Speaking of hogs, Mom was delighted to see this piece designed by Berthe Savigny for the HB pottery. The pigs were particularly interesting as generally examples of this mold have them painted solid pink...these pigs looked quite realistic !
There were a number of examples of Odetta stoneware art pottery...a high-end, top-of-the-line product introduced in the mid-1920s by the HB pottery.
This Odetta vase designed by Georges Renaud just screams Art-Déco...
...and this Odetta vase features a humorous scene of a petit breton being chased by a bull.
This figure...after a mold sculpted by Emile-Jean Armel Beaufils ( 1882-1952 )...was produced by Henriot. Entitled Jour de Pardon...Pardon Day...it depicts a petite bretonne dressed in the traditional costume of the Ploaré area of Douarnenez sitting with her prayer book.
The figure lacked crispness, the result of having been produced at the later part of the mold's optimum usefulness...the title being barely distinguishable...and the petite bretonne had part of her shoe missing, but it was an important attic find and the owner was assured that the piece certainly merited being restored.
An original HB Quimper race car bank was another happy discovery...it had been dedicated and given to the participant's mother some 80 years ago and miraculously had remained in excellent condition. It was a real delight to be able to enhance the appreciation of such a special family keepsake !
This is another of the more remarkable pieces brought to the museum event. It was created from a design by Jos Kervella (1915-1956). He is among the handful of artists who provided designs to both the Henriot and HB potteries. This is his figure of sonneurs...the term for describing a duo of Breton musicians consisting of a biniou player and a bombarde player. It dates from 1938-1939 when Kervalla had a short collaboration with the HB pottery before the outbreak of World War II ended the pottery's normal production.
Looking every bit like they are dancing to the music of Kervella's sonneurs is this group of dancers designed by Bel Delecourt
( 1915-2017 ) for HB. She created a number of different figures of dancers...this group represents dancers from the Pont-Aven area on the left and from the Pont-l-Abbé area on the right.
( 1915-2017 ) for HB. She created a number of different figures of dancers...this group represents dancers from the Pont-Aven area on the left and from the Pont-l-Abbé area on the right.
So many different forms, designs and motifs came out of those bags...here's an unusual jardinière in the form of a fish; it sits upon an impressive armorial platter with an intricate border design called nielle.
But arguably the biggest gasps of appreciation came when this piece came out from the bag it shared with a group of nice, but no-big-deal and relatively-recent HB dinner plates.
The owner found this in her garage...stashed away among the no longer used plates that she wanted identified. She had no idea that it was a very important piece of not just Quimper pottery , but of Breton history. as well. It was created for the Henriot pottery by René-Yves Creston ( 1898-1964). Creston was a co-founder of Seiz Breur...the name of an art movement that was initiated in 1923. ( A report of the 100 year celebration of Seiz Breur is slated to appear in a future issue ). Entitled Ouessantine au mouton...it depicts a petite bretonne from the island of Ouessant holding onto a lamb. A rare find !
Mom came home and immediately checked, but nothing like that in our garage.
For now, I'll close with a reminder that this month is the last opportunity to see this year's exhibit at the Musée de la Faïence...
...an assembly of examples honoring Jean-Claude and Marjatta Taburet and their contributions to the world of Quimper art pottery. Examples as diverse as Jean-Claude's terra cotta fisherman and Marjatta's colorful charger await your visit...
...as well as original designs for motifs...
...and examples of how those motifs were put to use...like in this 16 inch diameter charger painted by Jean-Claude in 2012.
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...with a double issue for July/August. 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 !