Quimper Faience in Savannah.

QCI members gather outside the saleroom
ready to shop until they drop.

Here at last, for your delectation, photographs from the Members Faience Sale which took place during our Sojourn in Savannah.

Joan Datesman

Ann Marie O'Neill

I'll just sit back and listen to your gasps of amazement at all the beautiful things our member dealers had to offer.

Henry Powell



Fayne Landes

 The choice was stunning, almost overwhelming.

Trisha Johnson

Sadly, Tricia has decided she can no longer devote the time, away from her career as a very succesful veterinarian, to maintain "Maison de la Croix" and was holding a "closing down" sale.

Noelle Beatty

Can you see the door push plate on Noelle's table above, very pretty but more colourful than the ones I recently acquired and so I left it for someone else to snap up.
Click here to see my blue & white door push plates

Philippe Lalys (L) Judy Datesman (R)

Finally, a pair of HR octagonal plates beautifully handpainted with a man and a woman dressed in costumes from my region of France, Normandy and a pretty floral border.

They had to come back to live with me in France.

Back view.

The linked PB mark and Normandie inscription were used by the Henriot faiencerie on regional souvenir wares and date the plates to circa 1920.
I hope that you have enjoyed the virtual visit to the saleroom today, remember as a QClub member you can find links on the QCI website to all our member dealers, including those who sadly didn't make it to Savannah this year.
I'll be linking this post to Laurie's A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday meme, be sure to call in and see all the other participants taking part this week.
Laurie is a fan of Quimper too, who knows she might just join the Club when she sees all the wonderful Q here today.

Porte Couteau aka Knife Rests...by Katie S.

Here is my collection of knife rests. Like all collections I don't think I set out to collect this one thing in particular. It just happened, I picked up one here and there and before I new it I had a collection within my collection...

The nice thing about knife rests are that they are small and usually not too costly.
My least expensive one was probably around $20.

Etiquette of knife rests today:
According to Kim Vallee, "Knife rests are a stylish table accessory if you plan to reuse the knives for more than one course. Do not put the knife on the knife rest when you are setting the table. The guests will deposit the knife on the knife rest between the courses to avoid spoiling the tablecloth. The knife rests signal to your guests that they should keep their knife. Knife rests are used exclusively in casual dinner.

There is no need for knife rests at a formal dinner. The utensils intended for the course are always removed at the end of each course at a formal dinner."

Above is marked, Dives Sur Mer

This one is by far the most rustic but has a less typical shape.

Part of a set of six gifted to me by fellow club member Laverne Conway.
Brand new, marked FAM France.

Probably my second favorite because it mixes my love of blue/white
and fleur de lys.
Will post that collection shortly, so come back!

And no French knife rest collection would be complete without French
cutlery so here is my Christofle taking a rest.

History:

The use of knife rests dates back to the late 17th and early 18th centuries. They were popular during the Victorian era. This was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign in England, from 1837-1901. It was a period of great prosperity and innovation.

The introduction of the knife rest was associated with a change in dining habits. The Victorian era is known for its elaboration of all aspects of dining, but especially for the proliferation of cutlery and glassware. The Victorians introduced the idea of several courses with a smaller number of food/menu choices. A different knife, fork and glass for every course was the norm.

Originally, the knife rests were probably set on the sideboard to protect the cloth runner. But as with most aspects of this era, eventually they became another aspect of elaborate table dressing. They were most certainly important for the protection of the beautiful table linens that were in use during that time.

Knife rests were made in almost any material, shape, size, and configuration you could imagine. Silver, gold, pottery, mother of pearl, ivory, horn and many combinations of these materials were used.

More information can be found here.

Books:
Knife Rests by Virginia L. Neas

Antique Knife Rests by Dean Rockwell

We'll be linking this post to Laurie's A Few of My Favourite Things Saturday meme, why not pop over to her great blog for a few more favourite things.

Inkwells ~ A Favorite Form by Sarah

I suppose many of us who collect French faience tend to favor certain forms or decors from time to time. Once a particular interest is sparked a collection within a collection begins to form. This group of Quimper ink wells was gathered together over many years. I've grouped them on a tray that moves about our home. Each of these date to around 1920 - 1930.

The heart shaped one is the first piece of vintage Quimper I acquired. It was a birthday gift from a group of friends given to me in the 1980s. This little heart was the piece that fueled my interest in antique and vintage pieces of French faience.

A souvenir from a California vacation one summer, this little faience charmer is new production from the 1980s. It is simply marked France Decor Main.

It opens to this sweet little flower shaped stopper covering the well.

More faience ink wells can be found sitting among books on shelves in a guest bedroom. These three were produced by Alcide Chaumeil and are known simply as CA faience because of the mark.

I first saw this square example in the collection of a fellow QCI member. A year or so later I was fortunate to find one for our collection.

It appealed to me because of the mechanics of this box. The ceramic lid pivots across to reveal the well for the ink. I suspect this is a rare form.

Another interesting form is this CA figural of a Breton fisherman pulling in his catch. The coiled rope is the lid to the inkwell.

A French market find, this rather large piece is unfortunately missing its lid. I found it laying in a box of assorted things at a weekend brocante. The price was too good to pass it by, so it too resides among the others, sans hat as Debbie @ Confessions of a Plate Addict says. You can read about her French ink well find here.

This little pair of bunnies were an eBay purchase. One holds the quills and the other the ink well. They are Desvres production.

A limited edition piece, this handsome ink stand was produced in 1990 by HB Henriot to commemorate the tricentennial of the faience of Quimper. The hand painted scene depicts the city of Quimper and the Odet River. The soft blue glaze and the fine detailed painting make this a remarkable piece.

A documentation card provided with this piece shows the other limited edition pieces that were produced for this special occasion.

If you are a collector of Quimper or other French faience, the bi-yearly QCI Journal is an excellent resource for those interested in specific forms or decors produced through the years. The colorful publication, free to members, includes the standing feature, Forms and Decors in addition to informative articles on various topics related to French faience. To join the Quimper Club International click here and begin receiving your copies of this publication. Back issues are also available for purchase. More information about both QCI and the Journal can be found on the sidebar.

So what collections within a collection can be found in your home?

These French faience ink wells are a few of my favorite things.

To see a list of others who are sharing some of their favorite things click here to join

A Few Of My Favorite Things Saturday

@ Bargain Hunting & Chatting with Laurie.

Also linking to the following parties:

Le Chateau des Fleurs French Obsession Party #6

Smiling Sally's Blue Monday

Gypsy's Corner's Three or More Tuesday

Breton Costumes! by Judy D

It is almost impossible to collect Quimper pottery without developing an appreciation for Breton (and other) costumes ... the figures on the various pieces serve as references for the costumes of different areas at different eras. So it is not surprising that the pièce de résistance at a pottery auction last weekend was a costume, and in fact, it was the costume whose details are on the cover of the catalogue for that sale.

As I noted in my previous blog, this costume is thought to be the oldest dated example of a Breton garment. It is black heavy felted wool, with red embroidery, including the buttons and dated 1811 - it would have been a special order for a well-off Breton. Costume collectors are as fierce faience collectors: the estimation fo the costume was 1200-1500 euros, but the bidding shot up to 5000 euros in pretty short order. At that point, there was a pause while an absent bidder was tracked down on the phone, after which the bidding climbed to the final gavel price of 6000 euros (to which a buyer's fee of 19% must be added!). This piece made yesterday's paper, including a comment from the auctioneer that the jacket will remain in France.

For all of its historical significance, the black jacket is extremely sober, too much so for my personal taste.

On the other hand, this bridal costume (of which the back is shown here) of Plogonnec (west of Quimper) from about 1880 is full of color and texture, including wool, ribbons, embroidered lace, and glass beads. It sold for 1500 euros, and it is stunning!

And how about this one for a little boy??

In wool, from the beginning of the 20th century, gavel price 300 euros.

During the exhibit, I asked the costume expert which one he personally preferred - he told me that it was this one:

He said he liked it because it was a complete costume of the wife of a craftsman of Quimperlé (east of Quimper), and it gives clues to the lifestyle of the wearer. One can see the social standing of the lady by the elegant touches on her dress. The color of the black is a bronzed shade that would have cost more money to dye. There is black velvet edging her pockets as well as her sleeves and the back of the top of the dress. The quality of the fabric is another indicator of her economic class, and the quality is such that over 100 years later, the costume is in excellent condition.

Actually, one thing that amazes me is how good the condition of many of the costumes were. Some were undoubtedly specially preserved by families (particularly wedding costumes, I would think), but even so, you have to start with a good product to be able to keep it good for 100+ years.

We're linking this post of Judy's to "A Few Of My Favourites Things Saturdays" meme held by Laurie each week, on her blog entitled: Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie. I think Laurie has a soft spot for Quimper although we haven't yet persuaded her to join QCI.

Please go over and visit with her & tell her all the good reasons why she would enjoy our group.

A few of my favourite things.................by Louise R

From time to time we will be featuring "one off, taster" blogs from QCI members who would like to try their hand at blogging.
This blog comes to us from Louise R who has been a member of QCI for 10 years.

Well, here goes, this is my first ever blog!

I've been collecting Quimper for about 25 years. I first saw it on my late father's dresser, some lovely, very old bowls (they disappeared when he died, probably thrown out by my stepmother or sent to the thrift shop, Gulp!)

My Dad was French, an antique dealer at Covent Garden Market in London. It was here that my son, Eddy, bought me my first piece of Keraluc pottery. It was a lovely vase in cream and brown with dancers on it. I was a dancer then too so loved it, and began to investigate Quimper ceramics.

I started, as I'm sure we all did, buying little domestic pieces, sometimes damaged, mostly cheap, bowls and plates; cups and saucers. As the collection grew I became more interested in the artists of Quimper, Keraluc and Brittany generally, especially the mid-century pieces from Fouillen and others.

My partner, Bryan, is a similarly enthusiastic collector of Japanese Woodblock Prints, and we have trawled fairs, brocantes, depot ventes, car boot sales and vide-greniers in France and Britain looking for bargains. Sometimes finding one, but often finding pieces that were quite expensive and completely irresistible!

I'm running out of space to display stuff in my small flat, shelves are full, as is every available bit of wall and flat surface. There are crates under the bed and sofas, I think it’s time for a sort out but I'm not sure if I dare!

My latest find was a huge HB Quimper vase. It stands 16 inches (41cm) tall and is decorated with peacocks and flowers, it dates to circa 1920. I discovered it in an antique shop in Suffolk, stuck at the back of a shelf behind some lamps. I clutched at Bryan, 'Look at that!' I breathed. 'Wow', he said, and we bought it along with a pretty HB Quimper jardiniere with a biniou player on it.

More goodies were found recently at bi-monthly fair at Kempton Park racecourse, a real dealers market. It starts at 6:30 a.m. but the atmosphere and prices are great!
There are quite a few markets and fairs around London and the South East area, not all of them well known or advertised, especially to visitors from abroad. I'd be happy to hear from anyone visiting London who would like to know where the best fairs and markets are being held, and to act as a guide. Hopefully we'll have a good summer with lots of outdoor events.
I hear that the 2011 annual meeting is going to be held in Quimper, Brittany, France and I'm delighted as I can't get to the US meetings, so will really look forward to this one!
Best wishes to you all,
Louise.

We are linking this post to "A Few Of My Favourite Things Saturdays" a meme graciously hosted by Laurie @ Bargain Hunting and Chatting with Laurie, where there are always lovely things to admire.