The city of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

has been a centre for the production of

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ...

tin-glazed earthenware Tin-glazed pottery is earthenware covered in lead glaze with added tin oxide which is white, shiny and opaque (see tin-glazing for the chemistry); usually this provides a background for brightly painted decoration. It has been important in Is ...

pottery, since at least the 1540s. Unlike Nevers faience, where the earliest potters were immigrants from Italy, who at first continued to make wares in Italian

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. Italian maiolica dating from the Renaissance period is the most renowned. When depicting historical and mythical scenes, these works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ...

styles with Italian methods, Rouen faience was essentially French in inspiration, though later influenced by East Asian porcelain. As at Nevers, a number of styles were developed and several were made at the same periods. The earliest pottery, starting in the 1540s, specialized in large patterns and images made up of coloured tiles. A century later the king granted a fifty-year

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

, and a factory was established by 1647. The wares this made are now hard to distinguish from those of other centres, but the business was evidently successful. When the monopoly expired in 1697 a number of new factories opened, and Rouen's finest period began, lasting until about the mid-century. The decoration of the best Rouen faience was very well-executed, with intricate designs in several styles, typically centred on ornament, with relatively small figures, if any. By the end of the 18th century production was greatly reduced, mainly because of competition from cheaper and better English

creamware Creamware is a cream-coloured refined earthenware with a lead glaze over a pale body, known in France as '' faïence fine'', in the Netherlands as ''Engels porselein'', and in Italy as ''terraglia inglese''.Osborne, 140 It was created about 175 ...

. For a brief period from 1673 to 1696 another factory in the city also made the earliest French

soft-paste porcelain Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial porcelain") is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either the hig ...

, probably not on a commercial basis; only nine pieces of

Rouen porcelain Rouen porcelain is soft-paste porcelain made in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France, during a brief period from about 1673 to 1696. It was the earliest French porcelain, but was probably never made on a commercial basis; only nine pieces are now ...

are now thought to survive.

Rouen faience

Abaquesne workshops

There are records of "faience in the Italian manner" (

) being made in Rouen in 1526, according to Moon by Masséot Abaquesne, whose workshop was certainly active by the 1540s. He was French, but at least some of his artists may have been Italian. They made painted tiles and also vessels. In 1542–49 they supplied tiles for the

Château d'Écouen The Château d'Écouen is an historic château in the commune of Écouen, some 20 km north of Paris, France, and a notable example of French Renaissance architecture. Since 1975, it has housed the collections of the Musée national de la Renaissa ...

being built by

Anne de Montmorency Anne, Duke of Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter (15 March 1493, Chantilly, Oise12 November 1567, Paris) was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France and served five kings. Early lif ...

, the '' Connétable de France'' or Grand Constable, chief minister and commander of the French army, who owned an Urbino maiolica service. Another commission from Montmorency's circle was tiling at the

Château de la Bastie d'Urfé The Château de la Bastie d'Urfé (also known as Bastie d'Urfé or Bâtie d’Urfé) is a French château in the town of Saint-Étienne-le-Molard, historically within the province of Forez. In the 16th century it was rebuilt in the Renaissance sty ...

, built by Claude d'Urfé. Some of these tiles date to c. 1557–60, and after passing through the collections of Gaston Le Breton (1845–1920), a leading art historian of French ceramics, and

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

, are now in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

in New York, which also has three

albarello An albarello (plural: ''albarelli'') is a type of maiolica earthenware jar, originally a medicinal jar designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Middle East during ...

s and a jug by the workshop. In 1543, Masséot signed a contract to supply 346 dozen (4,152) pharmacist's jars to a Rouen

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

. Another workshop was started by Masséot's son Laurent Abaquesne and active from about 1545–1590. File:Pavement tiles Masseot Abaquesne MNR SN.jpg, Floor tiles,

, 1540s File:Albarello MET DP-319-001 (cropped).jpg,

Albarello An albarello (plural: ''albarelli'') is a type of maiolica earthenware jar, originally a medicinal jar designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Middle East during ...

, c. 1545 File:Tiles with the devices of Claude d'Urfé MET LC-17 190 1954-001.jpg, Tiles with the devices of Claude d'Urfé, from the

, c. 1557–60 File:54 Tiles from the chapel of Château de la Bastie d'Urfé, France MET LC-17 190 1953-002.jpg, Single tile from the chapel of the

File:Panel of tiles MET ES667.jpg, Tile with head, c. 1549–51

Monopoly period, 1647–97

In 1644, Nicolas Poirel, ''

sieur Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...

'' (lord) of Grandval, obtained a fifty-year royal monopoly over the production of faience in Normandy. A factory was set up by Edme Poterat (1612–87), who was probably an experienced potter, and had reached an arrangement with Poirel. Three pieces dated 1647 are fairly simply decorated in blue on white, with touches of yellow and green. In 1663 Colbert, recently made

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

's finance minister, made a note that the Rouen faienceries should be protected and encouraged, sent designs, and given commissions by the king. By 1670, Poterat received part of the large and prestigious commissions for

's Trianon de porcelaine, now lost. In 1674, Poterat bought out the monopoly from Poirel; he was now evidently prosperous, and acquired two lordships. On Edme Poterat's death in 1687, his younger son Michel took over the business. Another son, Louis, had started another ''faiencerie'' in 1673, and was later to set up a separate factory to make porcelain (see below). Before the end of the century Rouen faience, apparently led by Louis Poterat (d. 1696), had developed the '' lambrequin'' style of decoration, a "baroque scalloped border pattern", with "pendant lacework ornament, drapes and scrollwork", adapted from ornamental styles used in other types of

decorative art ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings, and interior design, but not usua ...

, including book-bindings, lace and metalwork, and printed versions of them in design-books. Typically large and small elements alternate. This remained a key style, a "virtual trademark" for Rouen, well into the next century, and was often copied in other faience centres, including some outside France, and porcelain factories such as Rouen and

Saint-Cloud porcelain Saint-Cloud porcelain was a type of soft-paste porcelain produced in the French town of Saint-Cloud from the late 17th to the mid 18th century. Foundation In 1702, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans gave letters-patent to the family of Pierre Chicane ...

. The term derived from scarfs tied to their helmets by medieval knights, and then

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

, where it is called

mantling In heraldry, mantling or "lambrequin" (its name in French) is drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. In paper heraldry it is a depiction of the protective cloth covering (often of linen) worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the ...

in English. In French it had also become a term for the horizontal parts (

pelmet A pelmet (also called a "cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a doo ...

window valance A window valance (or pelmet in the UK) is a form of window treatment that covers the uppermost part of the window and can be hung alone or paired with other window blinds, or curtains. Valances are a popular decorative choice in concealing dra ...

) of curtains and hangings, especially around a bed.

After 1697

The end of the Poterat monopoly led to a number of other factories starting up, and it is generally not possible to distinguish between their wares. In 1717, the head of the Poterat family unsuccessfully asked the government to reinstate the monopoly, and suppress six other factories then working in Rouen. Further new factories were established, but the government wished to limit the number, and in particular issued a ''tableau'' in 1731 setting out those permitted to make faience and the permitted size of their kilns. In 1734 one manufacturer who had extended his kiln against the ''tableau'' was forced to dismantle it. These limits broadly held until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

although the odd new factory was allowed in later decades. In 1749 there were 13 factories, with 23 kilns between them, and in 1759 a total of 359 workers were employed. From 1720, Nicolas Fouquay (or Fouquet, d. 1742) bought the main Poterat faiencerie, and was responsible for much of the best work, including a small number of exceptional polychrome busts on stands. A set of the ''Four Seasons'' which were made around 1730 for the ''cabinet'' (study) of Fouquay's house are now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

; originally an ''Apollo'' now in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in London completed the group. A pair of uncoloured white busts of Anthony and Cleopatra are now in the ceramic museum in Rouen, and another in the

in New York. Other exceptionally large pieces are very rare pairs of celestial and terrestrial globes on pedestals, and some large table-tops. The lambrequin style was originally normally only in blue on white, although a piece dated 1699 already has ''broderie'' decoration with a Chinese subject in the centre, using four colours. By 1720, polychrome painting was becoming dominant, using the limited range of colours available for the ''grand feu'' technique of a single high-temperature firing. Around the same time the ''style rayonnant'' was popular, a version of lambrequin ornament applied to round dishes, with the lambrequins coming inwards from the edges, and then usually a blank area around a circular decorated area. This was also copied by other factories. Another decorative style originating in Rouen is called ''ochre niellé'' ("inlaid

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

"), with a background of golden-yellow glaze, and painted scrolling decoration of "curling dark blue, seaweed-like foliage", often making way for figures of naked putti or children in the centre of a piece. This is thought to derive from the Boulle Work furniture style with inlays of brass and wood on tortoiseshell and other materials associated with

André Charles Boulle André-Charles Boulle (11 November 164229 February 1732), ''le joailler du meuble'' (the "furniture jeweller"), became the most famous French cabinetmaker and the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry, also known as " inlay". Boulle was " ...

Rouen Chinese styles were varied, and sometimes combined with lambrequins and ''ochre niellé''. After about 1720, styles of floral painting and borders more closely derived from

Chinese export porcelain Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America between the 16th and the 20th century. Whether wares made for non-Western markets are covered b ...

and Japanese styles including

Kakiemon is a style of Japanese porcelain, with overglaze decoration called "enameled" ceramics. It was originally produced at the factories around Arita, in Japan's Hizen province (today, Saga Prefecture) from the Edo period's mid-17th century onwards ...

grew in popularity.

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

shapes and styles arrived rather later. A distinct Rouen style, poised between the

and ''chinoiserie'', is a strongly-coloured decor ''à la corne'', with stylized birds, flowers, butterflies and insects scattered around the field, and a

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

''corne d'abondance'' ("horn of plenty"), apparently with four or sometimes three faces, from which flowers emerge. The relative scale of all the elements is incoherent, designed to fill the space neatly. A service of some 200 pieces in this style was commissioned by Tsar

Peter III of Russia Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a s ...

as a gift for his favourite Count Golovin around 1760. The Rococo was "never properly understood" in Rouen, where the style was attempted from about 1750. In particular the factories long failed to adapt their shapes to the new style, and they "remained petrified in the silversmith's style of about 1690–1710", often forming "an unsympathetic frame for the sprawling flowers, urns and other paraphernalia of rococo painting". Rouen ceramics were copied extensively, by manufactories such as the

Sinceny manufactory The Sinceny manufactory (sometimes St. Cenis) was a French producer of ceramics, especially faience, located in the village of Sinceny, Picardy, in northern France. The Sinceny manufactory was founded in 1713, when potters from Rouen and before f ...

, founded in 1713, when potters from

moved there to establish their own venture, or by

Saint-Cloud manufactory Saint-Cloud porcelain was a type of soft-paste porcelain produced in the French town of Saint-Cloud from the late 17th to the mid 18th century. Foundation In 1702, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans gave letters-patent to the family of Pierre Chicanea ...

.''Historic Ornament – Treatise on Decorative Art and Architectural Ornament'' by James Ward p.64
/ref> In 1781, with 25 kilns operating, 570 workers were employed, of whom 95 were painters. Higher figures were claimed later in the decade in petitions to the government. As elsewhere in France, by the eve of the Revolution, the Rouen industry was suffering from the effect of the commercial treaty with Britain of 1786, by which English imports of high-quality, and relatively cheap

only had a tariff of 12%. One of the faiencerie owners, M. Huet, was granted 600 livres by the authorities to visit England, and investigate the potteries there. He returned with a plan to establish a factory on the English model, using coal but the plan was frustrated by the political situation. Huet's was one of a number of attempts to imitate English "''faience blanche''" (white

, as opposed to the traditional brown earthenware "''faience brune''"), but these could not match the strength and cheapness of the English product. By 1796, only nine kilns were in operation, and at a low level, with 150 workers.Pottier, 37, 39–40, 347–349 File:Musée de la faïence-61-pot-de-pharmacie.jpg, Late 17th-century pot with

festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depict ...

s File:Sugar powder holder Rouen faience with great fired blue designs circa 1700.jpg, Sugar pourer, c. 1700. File:Vaas, beschilderd met lambrequins, bloem- en bladranken en een satyr die een kruiwagen met putti voortduwt, BK-1965-174 (cropped).jpg, Vase with lambrequins, and a scene with satyrs, 1700–25 File:Buste allegorique des 4 saisons - L'Hiver - Winter - Rouen - vers 1730 - Louvre - OA 2611.jpg, ''Winter'', c. 1730, made for Nicolas Fouquay's house File:Bust of Apollo Rouen c1730 VA 4551-1857.jpg, Matching bust of ''Apollo'' (stand cut off) File:Rouen faience seau 1725 1740.jpg, Polychrome

jardiniere ''Jardinière'' is a French word, from the feminine form of "gardener". In English it means a decorative flower box or "planter", a receptacle (usually a ceramic pot or urn) or a stand upon which, or into which, plants (often in pots) may be pla ...

with Chinese dragon, 1725–40. File:Rouen faience plate circa 1730 (cropped).jpg, Polychrome plate with Chinese scene, c. 1730. File:Plateau MET ES5905.jpg, Plate, 1736, with ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

and

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord". R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by ...

'', 23 1/8 in. (58.7 cm) File:Tureen, French, Rouen, c. 1740, tin-glazed earthenware - Fitchburg Art Museum - DSC08900.JPG, Tureen, decor ''à la corne'', c. 1740 File:Dish MET SF17 190 1833 (cropped).jpg, Chinoiserie plate, c. 1740–45, 24.1 cm.

Notes

References

* Battie, David, ed., ''Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain'', 1990, Conran Octopus, * Chaffers, William, "The Earliest Porcelain Manufactory in England", in ''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'', 1865
google books
*Coutts, Howard, ''The Art of Ceramics: European Ceramic Design, 1500–1830'', 2001, Yale University Press, , 9780300083873
google books
*Lane, Arthur, ''French Faïence'', 1948, Faber & Faber *McNab, Jessie, ''Seventeenth-Century French Ceramic Art'', 1987, Metropolitan Museum of Art, , 9780870994906
google books
*Moon, Iris, "French Faience", in Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2016, New York: The

online
*Munger, Jeffrey, Sullivan Elizabeth, ''European Porcelain in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Highlights of the collection'', 2018, Metropolitan Museum of Art, , 9781588396433
google books
*Pottier, André, ''Histoire de la faïence de Rouen'', Volume 1, 1870, Le Brument (Rouen)
google books
(in French) *"Revue", ''Revue de la Normandie'', Volume 9, Eds Gustave Gouellain, Jean Benoît Désiré Cochet, 1869, E. Cagniard, in French
google books
*Savage, George, (1959), ''Pottery Through the Ages'', Penguin, 1959 *Savage, George, (1963), ''Porcelain Through the Ages'', Penguin, (2nd edn.) 1963 *Savage, George, and Newman, Harold, ''An Illustrated Dictionary of Ceramics'', 1985, Thames & Hudson,

Rouen faience

Abaquesne workshops

Monopoly period, 1647–97

After 1697

Notes

References

Further reading