by Lisa Lloyd

Occasionally, during my many years as an auctioneer, a piece of French provincial faience would pass through my rooms. Rarely marked and often difficult to attribute, it generally sold relatively cheaply, albeit with a few exceptions. It wasn't until my move to South West France that I started to appreciate the charm and diversity of these highly decorative and often naive provincial pieces.
'Faience' in France, 'maiolica' in Italy and 'Delftware' in Holland: all are terms for a lightly fired tin-glazed earthenware with an opaque glaze. Unlike the lead glazes widely used since the Medieval period, tin-glaze remains stable during firing, enabling decoration to be applied without the colours running or smudging. Early wares were glazed by dipping in the glaze solution and left to air dry before painting; the subsequent firing melted the colours into the glaze. This technique, known as 'grand feu', had a limited palette range as few colours could withstand the high temperatures needed for this combined operation, and were confined to shades of green (copper oxide), blue (cobalt), purple (manganese), yellow (antimony) and orange (iron). By the mid-18th century a desire to increase the range of colours led the potters to an alternative technique of glazing and firing before painting. Known as 'petit feu' this process allowed a wider range of colours to be mixed with powdered glass and fixed by a second firing at a much lower temperature. Among the new colours available were red, crimson, pink and gold leaf. This greater range of colours allowed the faience manufacturers to imitate the newly fashionable more expensive porcelains, and the standard of painting on these pieces is generally of a higher quality.

A Bayonne Château pattern plate, c.1790.

The term 'faience', derives from the Italian town of Faenza, and was in general use in France from the early 17th century onwards. It is thought that the technique of tin-glazing was introduced into France during the 16th century by migrant potters from Spain and Italy; early French wares show a distinct Italian influence. Surviving records show migrant artists working at Lyon as early as the 16th century.
Initially, faience was regarded as only suitable for the lower classes. However, in the early 18th century, due to numerous wars, the treasury was so depleted that Louis XIV called a national emergency which resulted in much of the silver of the nobility being sent to the mint for smelting. This led to a huge demand for faience, providing the industry with an opportunity to sell their wares in a very different market supported by an aristocratic patronage. A similar demand followed in 1759 during the Seven Years War and this perhaps helps to explain the rapid development of faience in France during the 18th century.
Throughout history, the Gallic love of good food and wine has been of paramount importance, even to the average French person. With this in mind it should come as no great surprise that the majority of 18th and 19th century faience produced for domestic use was tableware. Purely ornamental objects are relatively uncommon. The variety of tablewares is diverse including plates, dishes, tureens, sauce boats, condiments and rinsers (raffraichissoirs). The tureen was usually the piéce de resistance, often standing on a raised centrepiece (surtout de table). Of the non-domestic variety, commonly found items are apothecary jars, barbers' bowls, sick feeders' (quaintly known as canard de malade), wash jugs and basins, wall fountains and religious items such as holy water stoops, not forgetting that particularly French invention, the bordaloue.