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The Expansion of French Faience to the South of France

In the late seventeenth century, the region of Provence emerged as a new, important center of faience production, with workshops opening in Moustiers and Marseille about the same time. About 1679, Pierre Clérissy opened the first faience manufactory in Moustiers (operated by the same family for three generations, until 1783); Pierre’s brother, Joseph Clérissy, opened the first faience manufactory in Saint-Jean-du-Désert, near Marseille.

The Clérissy Manufactory in Moustiers

The pieces here represent the production of the Clérissy manufactory in Moustiers during the first half of the eighteenth century. The earliest pieces were in monochrome blue, like the large platter painted with a boar hunt (cat. 49) and the ewer in the form of a helmet (cat. 50). However, the masterpiece of Moustiers faience in the Knafel Collection is undoubtedly the large platter, painted in monochrome blue with yellow highlights and touches of green, depicting a complex scene with Asian merchants and boats (cat. 51).

The Olérys and Laugier Manufactory in Moustiers

In Moustiers, several manufactories that opened during the first half of the eighteenth century presented strong competition for the Clérissy family, especially with the arrival of Joseph Olérys, a talented potter from Marseille. Olérys worked in his hometown for three years beginning in 1723, before being recruited by the Count of Aranda to direct his new faience manufactory in the Spanish town of Alcora, near Valencia. In 1738, Olérys opened his own manufactory in Moustiers with his brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Laugier, whence the various marks combining O and L found on pieces from the manufactory (cats. 55, 56, 57, 59).

Joseph Olérys is probably the inventor of the most celebrated type of decoration found on Moustiers faience, characterized by asymmetrical compositions of small and fanciful figures, or grotesques, painted with a lightness of touch and yet great precision, in monochrome manganese or polychromy (cats. 54, 56, 57, 58, 59).

Marseille

The development of faience production in Marseille is closely related to that in Moustiers. The two centers were only about eighty miles apart, and many faienciers working at Marseille were from Moustiers. As a result, attribution of unmarked pieces can be quite challenging (for example, cat. 66). But Marseille manufactories also developed their own styles. The Leroy manufactory created a kind of flower that looks like a starfish, always painted in red, as seen around the borders of the large platter (cat. 63). And the Fauchier manufactory is celebrated for its “Don Quixote” services — with scenes from the famous Spanish novel by Cervantes painted in monochrome yellow (ochre), surrounded by rococo borders composed of asymmetric lines, shells, and latticework — represented here by a platter painted with an aristocratic couple and other characters near the ruins of an old castle or temple (cat. 67).

  • Earthenware platter with a landscape scene of soldiers on horseback and dogs at the center.

    Platter
    Moustiers, ca. 1700−20
    Clérissy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 20 in. (50.8 cm), W. 24 3/4 in. (63 cm)
    Cat. 49
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Earthenware ewer in blue and white with a coat of arms and two figures.

    Ewer
    Moustiers, ca. 1700−25
    Clérissy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 10 3/8 in. (26.5 cm), W. 9 1/2 (24.1 cm)
    Cat. 50
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Earthenware platter depicting a landscape scene with soldiers in the foreground and castle and ships in the background

    Platter
    Moustiers, ca. 1730−40
    Clérissy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 12 1/4 in. (31.1 cm), W. 16 7/8 in. (43 cm)
    Cat. 51
    © The Frick Collection

  • Plate
    Moustiers, ca. 1730−40
    Clérissy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 9 7/8 in. (25.2 cm)
    Cat. 52
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Bowl on Foot
    Moustiers, ca. 1740
    Clérissy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm)
    Cat. 53
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Tray with Coat-of-Arms of the Deschamps and Constant Families
    Moustiers, ca. 1750
    Clérissy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 7 in. (17.8 cm), W. 9 5/8 in. (24.5 cm)
    Cat. 54
    © Beylard, Ferrier and Lewandowski

  • Wall Fountain with Basin
    Moustiers, ca. 1750
    Olérys and Laugier manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Fountain H. 27 in. (69 cm), W. 10 in. (25.4 cm); Basin W. 19 1/2 in. (50 cm), D. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
    Marks: on the reverse, interlaced, S.OL
    Cat. 55
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Platter
    Moustiers, ca. 1750
    Olérys and Laugier manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 13 in. (33 cm), W. 18 7/8 in. (48 cm)
    Marks: on the reverse, interlaced, S.OL
    Cat. 56
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Plate
    Moustiers, ca. 1750
    Olérys and Laugier manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
    Marks: on the reverse, interlaced, OL
    Cat. 57
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Earthenware sugar caster decorated with flowers and mythical creatures

    Sugar Caster
    Moustiers, ca. 1750
    Olérys and Laugier manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 9 7/8 in. (25 cm), W. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
    Cat. 58
    © The Frick Collection

  • Platter
    Moustiers, ca. 1750
    Olérys and Laugier manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm), W. 14 7/8 in. (37.7 cm)
    Marks: on the reverse, interlaced, OL, SC, and F
    Cat. 59
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Earthenware pitcher and basin both depicting landscapes with figures and animals interacting.

    Covered Pitcher and Basin
    Moustiers, ca. 1760
    Féraud manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Basin H. 11 in. (23 cm), W. 14 in. (36 cm)
    Pitcher H. 9 3/4 in. (25 cm), W. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
    Cat. 60
    © The Frick Collection

  • Powder Box
    Attributed to Marseille, ca. 1720−30
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 4 in. (10.2 cm), Diam. 6 in. (15.2 cm)
    Cat. 61
    © Beylard, Ferrier and Lewandowski

  • Fruit Dish
    Marseille, ca. 1720
    Leroy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 8 3/8 in. (21.2 cm)
    Cat. 62
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Earthenware platter with a few small landscape scenes involving human figures, animals and mythological creatures.

    Platter
    Marseille, ca. 1720−30
    Leroy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 13 in. (33 cm), W. 17 3/8 in. (44 cm)
    Cat. 63
    © The Frick Collection

  • Plate
    Marseille, ca. 1725−30
    Leroy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 9 5/6 in. (24.5 cm)
    Cat. 64
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Plate
    Marseille, ca. 1725−30
    Attributed to the Leroy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 9 in. (23 cm)
    Cat. 65
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Platter
    Marseille or Moustiers, ca. 1730
    If Marseille, attributed to the Leroy manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    Diam. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm)
    Cat. 66
    © Christophe Perlès

  • Earthenware platter with a landscape scene at the center with figures standing along a castle-like wall.

    Platter
    Marseille, ca. 1730−40
    Fauchier manufactory
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 12 in. (30.5 cm), W. 16 in. (41 cm)
    Cat. 67
    © The Frick Collection

  • Boat-Shaped Spice Box
    Attributed to Marseille, ca. 1750
    Faience (tin-glazed earthenware)
    H. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm), L. 6 1/4 in. (16 cm)
    Marks: on the reverse, on either sides of the rudder, I and P
    Cat. 68
    © Beylard, Ferrier and Lewandowski

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