Tablescape Thursday...or...Completely Quimper!

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday with our hostess with the mostest, Susan at Between Naps on the Porch! Be sure to stop by her beautiful blog to see another one of her amazing tablescapes and to see a list of this week's participants!

I am calling this week's tablescape Completely Quimper (pronounced kem pair) because I am showing you my collection of French Quimper ware. It is not china, but faïence, a type of pottery, and is made in Quimper in the Brittany region or Bretagne. You have seen parts of my collection on several different tablescapes, but never all together!

Baby Kitty is excited to be your co-host today because he is quite the Quimper ware aficionado. His favorite pattern is le coq ancien, or the old rooster, for obvious reasons! All of the pieces that he will be showing you were handmade and hand painted, then signed by the individual artists who created them. I was fortunate enough to visit the HB Henriot factory and see them at work...fascinating! The first pieces I will show you are modern, not antique.

First, I am showing you the lug bowl with its little handles which is used for drinking café au lait in the morning. The pattern on the handles is created by dabbing the paint with sea sponges.

Next is the salad or dessert plate. The stylized flower beside the rooster is typical of Quimper ware, so you will see it on many pieces.

Here is the dinner plate. Although the pieces will always be similar, they will never be identical. Each one of these three pieces was actually created by a different artist, since different initials can be found on each of them!

Here is a close-up of the rooster on the mug. I love his attitude!

Now for my favorites! Here is the pair of pitchers in the more traditional pattern featuring the Breton man and woman. I prefer this pattern, but the problem is, as I have said before, that I must always buy two of everything! How could I leave the little Breton man without his sweetie?

The salt and pepper shakers feature the Breton couple and are souvenirs from my retirement trip to France two years ago...

...as are these egg cups. They were actually bought at the HB Henriot factory in Quimper! Once again, they feature the Breton couple in traditional costumes.

I hope you won't mind if I show you some more of my collection. These are not actually intended to be dinner plates, but are wall décor...great!...because that's where I have them! They are called Genre Ancien wall plates and are based on designs from the HB Henriot archives or museum collections. You will notice that these are much more ornate!

Here's another pair of wall plates from the Genre Ancien collection. Notice that the women are frequently depicted with a spindle used in spinning and the men with either a clay pipe or an instrument.

These plates are commonly available in antique stores and are much less ornate than some patterns. Notice that there is a little tree rather than a flower. Are you beginning to see what I mean about buying two? My sister gave me the little man for my birthday and I had to rush right out and buy his little honey so he wouldn't be alone!

I love these heart-shaped plates! I keep one near the sink so I have a place to put my rings. This is the same pattern that is on the pitchers.

Here are two of my favorites! I bought these at the Sunday antique market in l'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, France. These are entirely decorative. Don't you love her unusual lace cap? Each province in France has different styles, but Brittany has some of the taller, more elaborate ones!

I love this plate. It is also an antique and was my first piece of Quimper ware. Isn't the design just exquisite? You can't tell from the photo, but the border is almost three dimensional. Unfortunately, this Bretonne doesn't have a mate. I wish she did!

Finally...a piece that I only had to buy one of...this antique double wall pocket! I think this one is my favorite! It hangs on the wall near my front door. Isn't the little couple wonderful? I hope my collection has inspired some interest in Quimper ware. Hand painted faïence is a treasure and should not be allowed to fall by the wayside, as are so many parts of the china-producing industry today!

So there you have it...my Completely Quimper tablescape...plus a few little extras! Thanks so much for stopping by! Please head on over to Susan's to continue your tour de tablescapes! And...à la prochaine!...I'll see you next time!