BET YOU CAN'T HAVE JUST ONE.....

...Collection, That Is........by Cerelle

I don't know what it is, but one collection seems to lead into another. Sometimes one sees something quite different from your avowed collection but it just calls to you, perhaps because it would look so nice with what you do collect.

I think of the frames we saw at Twila and Ted's house which showcased special pieces of their Quimper faience. Now there is a collection to continue.



Perhaps the item has a similar theme or motif, and one just cannot resist adding it to display together. Another collection I have, small by necessity, is terre verniseé. I have only a few pieces, but they are large ones and that has to keep me limited. These grand pots with the fabulous runs of glaze just give me goose bumps, and they are so very French, so I had to have a few.


Then there is the possibility that you are a Francophile, and like to include other items which add to the ambiance of France in your home. I felt this influence in the homes we visited in Dallas recently. Each had its own distinct personality, but each one felt French in many ways, and I would feel at home in any one of them.

This is not to say that I am French, or even can testify to what constitutes French decor, but I know what I like, and much of it includes French furniture and fabrics, and French faience of course. LOTS of French faïence.






I have several accidental collections. One which I have found has the advantage of being small and easily stored is hand fans.



A friend who lives in the Medieval town of Cordes-sur-Ciel in the region of the Tarn, showed me her collection of fans, and told me about the different styles and shapes and the dates they were made.. She told me about the materials used, and how to care for them.












These beautiful fans and their history intrigued me, and then when I returned to Arizona, I discovered that a couple of my friends here collected them too. So it was easy enough to join the club, and now I belong not only to the Quimper Club International, but FANA (Fan Association of North America) and our local division, the Southwest Connection.

























I have also accumulated what can only be called a collection of Santons. This collection just sort of grew and before I knew it there was a huge extended family of little French folks in nineteenth century dress living in my display cabinets. I prefer ones made by particular santon makers, and the earlier ones by Simone Jouglas are my favorites. The two Arlesiennes in the story of the Camargue are by her and they are rather dear to me, as I saw them as my mother and me, (though she looked much better than that even at almost 102).



Soon many of them will make their annual pilgrimage to gather around the crêche under the Christmas tree representing all the vocations of the townsfolk as they pay homage to the Baby Jesus.








Santons, if well made, fit the criteria of my collections. Beauty or character, history, fine hand craftsmanship, and something of French culture.

























I have thought about why I collect fans,
and it seems not so different.
I like them for their beauty, their place in time, their craftsmanship,
the hand painting or hand carved mother-of-pearl or ivory,
the handmade lace.


Why do I love faience? I love it for the beauty, the history, the fascinating stories they tell,and especially for the hand painting...about which I am very particular. So, I suppose, the reasons are really much the same.




There are many reasons to collect, but primary for me is the admiration of hand craftsmanship and individual artistry. In this era of mass production, and some of it pretty poor, it is a joy to see an item where the finest efforts have resulted in such beauty.

I feel ownership is a privilege, but also a stewardship. It is my pleasure to enjoy them in my lifetime, but also my responsibility to protect these one of a kind items for future generations. I look at them and wonder, who was the person who painted this? What was life like for them? I so much wish we knew the names of these artists. Some, we can know, but so many are just unknown.
I see that much of what I collect from French furniture to the collections listed bring to mind the 19th or even the 18th centuries.. Life was not better then, and in many ways was much harder..but I sometimes think that I may have been there...or at least, that is what my friends declare.

"You must have been French in a former life" they say. Oh, of course not, but still....

....sometimes...
Some interesting web sites you might like to visit for more info on fans and santons:
http://www.jaunesetvertes.com/Intro101607.swf
http://www.fanassociation.org/links.htm
http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/museums/musee-santon/provence-santons.htm
http://www.wendytroupe.com/2007/11/french-santons-cest-bientt-nol.html
http://santonsprovence.com/en/historique.htm

DID YOU KNOW?........by Cerelle

In the south of France, in the region of the Camargue, there are COWBOYS!!

Being an Arizonian, I find that intriguing and somewhat amazing.

Here in the Camargue, they are called 'gardiens'. Still, herding cattle and horses is as "cowboy" as the name.
They live in a flat area of salt marshes and water where two branches of the Rhone River form a delta as they empty into the Mediterranean Sea.

If you know where Arles is located, you can visualize a triangle with Arles at the apex, and the area of the Camargue forming the rest of the triangle between the arms of the two branches of the Rhone River as it flows into the Mediterranean Sea.




It is full of steamy lakes
and a humidity of up to 100%
and inhabited by marsh birds
including huge flocks of flamingos!




Nothing could be more different from our Arizona desert of rugged mountains and cactus and cresote covered desert, and here it is dry..REALLY DRY.

The Camargue area was unfit for farming with all of the salt water, but it was found suitable for grazing the black bulls and handsome white horses for which the area is famous. These are both old breeds, and smaller than usual. Both bulls and horses live semi wild lives, and are strong breeds which survive well in the intense heat and chlling cold.

The Camargue horses are believed to be descended from the prehistoric horses of the Paleolithic period, 17,000 years ago, which are seen in the paintings on the walls of Lascaux and other caves. They seem to have been crossbred with the later Arabian horses left by the Moorish Invaders.
They are born black or dark brown, and by the age of four they have changed into a slightly mottled whitish gray, and are usually just called white.


The bulls are all black and used for their distinctively flavored meat, perhaps as a result of their diet of salt grass, and are also used in a form of bull running where the object is to pick a cockade from between the horns of the running bull...not such a clever thing to do, but a tradition.


The gardiens herd the cattle and horses with the aid of a trident, and are very much a part of the region's mystique and folklore.

The American cowboy, too, is certainly a character of mystique and folklore in the USA, and their romanticized lives live on in the popular culture, and still in actuality in some areas.




Like so many areas of France, there is a whole culture in the area which is different and specialized., partly due to the specialized way of life which evolved due to local conditions.

The heritage of these French gardiens has been commemorated in the faïence of Etienne Laget and the fabrication of Quimper. Laget created many designs to show the culture of the area of Arles, and there are some very handsome pieces featuring the gardien and also the ladies of the region, the Arlesienne.



You can find faïence pieces by Laget featuring other regions as well. I have seen plates featuring the costumes of the Basque region,Provence, and other areas from time to time.


This tureen is especially charming with the encircling band of dancing Arlésiennes.


This santon, which I consider quite special, is the only one which I have seen which features not only the gardien in his traditional black hat, but the Arlésienne along with him on the Camargue horse. You will note that the lady will always have a parasol with her to protect her from the blazing sun. The cypress tree and well is another ceramic piece done by Laget.

The Arlésienne is quite a subject in her own right, and the story by Alphonse Daudet which Bizet set to haunting music in L'Arléienne is likely familiar to many people. It is a joy to see her in a festival wearing her traditional costume with her ribbon coif upon the upswept hair style, and parasol against the sun.
It makes it easy to understand her allure.



The easiest place to see this culture is in Arles, or in Stes-Maries-de-la-Mer, which is 19 km east of Aigues-Mortes.

Finding the pieces of faïence is a quest which may take more searching, but are always rewarding when one is located.

For more information on the Camargue region of France click here.

PS....Did you recognize my cowboy, Bill?

Here he is in Arizona many years ago when we were much younger.

Cerelle