French Tin-Glazed and Enamelled Dish, 19th century

A large French faience or tin-glazed and enamelled earthenware dish with stylised flowers between concentric circles.

Minor rubbing to the rim, original glazing flaws and minor crackles. No cracks or restoration.

characterized as more provincial in style than porcelain, French faience was used at the court of Louis XIV as part of elaborate meals and displays. Faience can be created from a wide mixture of clays and is distinguished by the milky opaque white colour achieved by the addition of tin oxide to the glaze. Grand feu pieces are fired a single time at high temperature. As here, the colour palette consists of blue, yellow, brown-purple, and green. Petit feu faience was fired two or three times at a lower firing temperature enabling greater precision in painting techniques and a greater variety of colours.