History of the Quimper manufactories
The history of Quimper manufactories is not simple! Many workshops have emerged over the centuries. Some have disappeared, others have allied… And the family tree of Quimper ceramics proves difficult to interpret.
From this richness, three currents stand out in the manufactories of Quimper: La Grande Maison, Eloury-Porquier-Beau and Dumaine-Tanquerey-Henriot.
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First of all, the three are located in Loc-Maria. It is a district of Quimper particularly fertile in raw materials. In 1968, these Quimper manufactories were brought together under the common name: Faïenceries de Quimper.
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Quimper manufactories: La Grande Maison
La Grande Maison was founded by Jean-Baptiste Bousquet in 1699. It enjoyed growing success. Among all the Quimper manufactories it is perhaps the best known.
At the bottom of earthenware bowls with engobes, one finds Hispano-Moorish decorations. This is because in the past its founder worked in Marseille.
At the death of Jean-Baptiste Bousquet in 1708, his son, Pierre, took the head of the Quimper manufactory and moved it to the present-day Place du Styvel. This new site, located on the port of Quimper, offers undeniable advantages. It is on the front line for supplies and shipments.
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The Nevers technique
In 1731, Pierre Bousquet’s son-in-law, Pierre Belleveaux, joined the family Quimper manufactory. This accomplished faience maker, originally from the Nivernais region, brought the Nivernais technique of touch-decoration into the productions of the early 18th century.
The decorations sometimes draw inspiration from his native region, as shown, for example, by plates with Loire boat motifs.
The Quimper productions demonstrate an absorption of the Nevers techniques and then their application inspired by Breton culture.
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Decorations from Rouen
Pierre Bellevaux died in 1743. Six years later, in 1749, it was the turn of Pierre-Clément Caussy, a faience maker and painter on Rouen faience, to join La Grande Maison.
His contribution to Quimper was among the most important. He influenced production until the end of the 19th century thanks to the many stencils (poncifs) he had taken care to bring: small papers pierced with pinholes following the outline of the Rouen designs. Placed on a faience piece and rubbed with a pad soaked in charcoal powder, these stencils make it possible to reproduce the design in dotted form on a piece to guide the painter’s hand.
To the Nivernais colors of Belleveaux were added those of Rouen to form the five characteristic Quimper colors: red, blue, yellow, green and purple.
The popular Quimper
The mixing of styles of these great faience makers from Nevers and Rouen gave birth to the popular Quimper. At Caussy’s death in 1782, his son-in-law, Antoine de La hubaudière, took charge of the company for which he had worked since 1771.
It is highly likely that the triangle mark, particularly sought after, including the initials H for Hubaudière and B for Bousquet, is due to this Freemason.
In 1783, the Franco-British commercial treaty authorized the entry into French territory of fine English earthenware. This was the beginning of a difficult period that would last until the French Revolution.
1916: the end of a dynasty
At the death of Antoine de la Hubaudière in 1794, the company remained a family affair. It was taken over by his wife, then by his son Clément, who ceded his shares to his cousin Félix in 1842.
In 1879, the La Hubaudière manufactory became a company: la Faïencerie bretonne de la Grande Maison.
The de La Hubaudière dynasty endured until 1916 with the last of the large family, Guy. The history of the faience works did not stop there, however.
In 1917, Jules Verlingue, a faience maker from Boulogne-sur-Mer in the Nord, founded the company Jules Verlingue et Cie, which became the Société Jules Verlingue, Bolloré et Cie in 1922, then la socité anonyme des Ets Céramiques de la Grande Maison H.B, in 1928.
Before absorbing the Henriot manufactory, also established in Quimper, to become the Faïenceries de Quimper, operating the HB and Henriot brands.
Quimper manufactory Eloury-Porquier-Beau
François Eloury, an employee of Pierre-Clément Caussy, opened his turning workshops in the parish of Ergué-Armel in 1772. At first, he produced mainly pottery and pipes.
Then, in 1780, his widow moved the small business to Loc-Maria, on the banks of the Odet, to take advantage of the port’s benefits.
Later, under the direction of Guillaume Eloury, François’s son, the manufactory prospered and developed, coming to compete with La Grande Maison.
For Eloury’s productions were no longer limited to pottery and stoneware, but also included remarkable faiences with rich and elaborate decorations, some of which bear the E mark.
The succession of Eloury was ensured by his daughter Hélène who married Charles Porquier in 1809. The manufactory was called Eloury-Porquier.
In 1839, Clet-Adolphe Porquier took over the direction of the Porquier manufactory.
Success with Alfred Beau
In 1869, his widow, Augustine Caroff, succeeded him. From 1873, she engaged the services of a talented painter: Alfred Beau. As artistic director, he created a new, very naturalistic style, combining vegetation and animals. Above all, he led the company to success.
In 1875, the manufactory became Porquier-Beau with the PB mark.
Despite everything, the company would not withstand the competition. Alfred Beau ended his collaboration with the Porquier manufactory in 1903. It closed its doors in December 1904. The designs and models were bought by the manufactures Jules Henriot, another great name in Quimper faience in Finistère.
Quimper manufactories Dumaine-Tanquerey-Henriot
Guillaume Dumaine de la Josserie established himself as a potter in the Loc-Maria quarter in 1791. He came from Normandy. In the loan he requested from the Directory, he specified that he would not compete with the two manufactories in operation by producing buires in the Bordeaux style, which are not found in Brittany.