The city of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

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 Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

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 ...

pottery, since at least the 1540s. Unlike

Nevers faience The city of Nevers, Nièvre, now in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France, was a centre for manufacturing faience, or Tin-glazed pottery, tin-glazed earthenware pottery, between around 1580 and the early 19th c ...

, 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. The most renowned Italian maiolica is from the Renaissance period. These works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ("painted with stories") when depicting historical and ...

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 and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

, 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 its hig ...

, probably not on a commercial basis; only nine pieces of Rouen porcelain 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 Masseot Abaquesne (c. 1500-1564) was a manufacturer of Rouen faience, in France between 1535 and 1557. He was the maker of the remarkable paving in the Chateau de Ecouen, which has been attributed both to Luca della Robbia and Bernard Palissy ...

, 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 Re ...

being built by

Anne de Montmorency Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency ( – 12 November 1567) was a French noble, governor, royal favourite and Constable of France during the mid to late Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. He served under five French kings (Loui ...

, the ''

Connétable de France Connétable or Connetable may refer to: * Connetable (Gatchina), an obelisk and square in Gatchina, Russia * Connétable (Jersey and Guernsey), elected heads of the Parishes in Jersey and Guernsey islands * Constable () * Grand Constable of 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 A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...

, built by

Claude d'Urfé Claude d'Urfé (1501, château de la Bastie d'Urfé-1558) was a French royal official of the 16th century. He acted as governor and bailiff of Forez after that county became a royal domain. He was a friend and confidant of Francis I and fought alo ...

. 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 and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

, are now in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in New York, which also has three albarellos 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 an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

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

, 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 and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English feudal (specifically baronial) system. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the ...

'' (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 LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

'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 aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both Beauty, beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typical ...

, 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, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

, 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 board") is a framework placed above a window, used to conceal curtain fixtures. These can be used decoratively (to hide the curtain rod) and help insulate the window by preventing convection currents. It is sim ...

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 drape ...

) 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 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 a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

; originally an ''Apollo'' now in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

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 ( ; , ), iron 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 colou ...

"), 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 Boulle work (also known as buhl work) is a type of rich marquetry process or inlay perfected by the French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732). It involves veneering furniture with tortoiseshell inlaid primarily with brass and pewte ...

furniture style with inlays of brass and wood on

tortoiseshell Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is a critically endangered species according to the IUCN Red List largely because of its ...

and other materials associated with

André Charles Boulle André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal ...

. 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 ...

and Japanese styles including

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

grew in popularity.

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

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 (; ), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. In Greek, it was called the " horn of ...

''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 III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

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 ...

, founded in 1713, when potters from

moved there to establish their own venture, or by Saint-Cloud manufactory.''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 depicti ...

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 language, French word, from the Grammatical gender, 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 whic ...

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 often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

'', 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 William Chaffers (28 September 1811 – 12 April 1892) was an English antiquary and writer of reference works on hallmarks, and marks on ceramics. His ''Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain'', first published in 1863, has appeared in many ...

, "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
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*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