Majolica Spotlight: The Onnaing Pichet Cochon Au Jambon

Pichet Cochon Au Jambon is the French name for a pitcher that translates into “Pig Pitcher with Ham.” The potteries of Europe made many pig and boar themed pieces. I feature some of them here.The ones I’m highlighting in this post though are those that are similar to the one that originated at Onnaing and copied by several other faïenceries—with certain differences—and are still being copied today by modern potteries.

Onnaing majolica Pichet Cochon.Au Jambon 

The pitcher is modeled as a pig on its hind legs with the snout as the spout. The Onnaing example is the oldest, having originated sometime in the 1870s. It has a ribbon wrapped around the pig’s body from which hangs a ham—a rather bizarre concept. The pitcher is sometimes found in a monochromatic treatment as well. French character jug specialist Bertrand Cocq describes the laurel as indicative of the pig’s exceptional intelligence. He has also described a variation of this model made specifically for the French retailer Garnier & Mouret. The only real difference is in the mark on the base..

Garnier & Moret version of the Onnaing jug

Garnier & Mouret mark on the Onnaing jug

Onnaing majolica jug

I can’t say who made the first copy but since the Orchies example is almost identical, with the exception of a smaller ear and smaller front feet, I would guess it was theirs. In fact they liked the design so much that they also adapted it into a humidor and a bank.

Orchies majolica Pichet Cochon Au Jambon

Orchid's majolica humidor

Orchies majolica pig bank

Other companies made very similar pig pitchers but without the Jambon. Delphin Massier made probably the nicest of these. It is in many ways finer than the original. It has no laurel swag, no ribbon and no ham and the modeling and glazing are in my opinion of a higher quality than the others. This model also was also available as a syrup with a tiny pig finial.

Delphin Massier majolica Pichet Cochon. 

No ribbon, no ham, no laurel swags

Delphin Massier pig syrup with pig finial

Then there is also the Sarreguemines version with no laurel, no ribbon, no ham but with an umbrella! The modeling is also significantly different from the others.

Sarreguemines majolica Pichet Cochon

Finally, and probably the most recent, is the one from Desvres Masse. This one has a base which easily distinguishes it from the others. Desvres also made a differently modeled pig pitcher without a base, laurel or a ham.

Desvres Pichet Cochon Au Jambon

Desvres Pichet Cochon

Reproductions

Orchies made their pitcher for many years until they closed sometime in 1980. Later examples can be identified by the mark and the opaque glazes which were used long after lead based glazes became obsolete. The modeling is also lees detailed. Other companies, mostly from Asia, have produced modern reproductions as well, many of them quite awful. Fortuately they omit the creepy ham addition.

A particularly awful modern reproduction 

A reproduction of the reproduction above

A reproduction of the two reproductions show above it

A different type of modern reproduction 

This Italian copy has a cros instead of a ham

Another modern reproduction, this one with a 

cross instead of the ham hanging from a ribbon

Marks

The marks on these antique pitchers vary with the intended market. The Frei Onnaing pitchers have one of the usual Onnaing marks. If the piece is marked FRANCE it was made for export after 1890. If it is marked MADE IN FRANCE it was made after 1910 and intended for export.

Onnaing mark on the Cachon Au Jambon ju

The Orchies pitchers have a number and letter combination on the base indicating the size. Those that were intended for export after 1910 will have the MADE. IN FRANCE marking.

Orchies mark

Orchies mark made for export

The Massier model will have the hand written DELPHIN MASSIER ink mark on the base.

Delphin Massier Vallauris A.M. mark

The Sarreguemines model will have the usual impressed Sarreguemines mark on the base while the Desvres model with have the standard Dedvres mark on the base if it is marked at all.

As I always say, there is nothing wrong with buying a reproduction as long as you know what you’re buying. Some are suitable for table use but others are not and only suitable for display. Be sure you know which is which before using them.

Majolica in the Media: Antiques Roadshow BBC, Bangor Castle

A wonderful episode of BBC’s Antiques Roadshow recently featured a glorious piece of majolica. In season 49, episode 9 from a location at Bangor Castle, Northern Ireland, a woman brought in a piece of French majolica to the Roadshow for evaluation by ceramics appraiser Serhat Ahmet.

It had belonged to her grandmother who bought it at auction in the 1930s. She kept it in her front window and the grandchildren looked forward to seeing it when they visited her. The piece was eventually inherited by the woman’s sister and they were interested in getting information on it.

Delphin Massier majolica grasshopper

Ahmet told her the piece was from Vallauris on the French Riviera modeled by Delphin Massier—a large majolica grasshopper vase.

The flabbergasted owner was surprised to hear the auction appraisal of £4000-£6000. What a great piece to feature on the Roadshow.

You can watch the episode on YouTube here.

Majolica Spotlight: The Palissy Majolica of François Maurice

The School of Paris included some of the most famous names in palissy-style majolica production including Sergent, Barbizet and Pull. Among them was François Maurice.

Maurice palissy leaf dish

Biographical information on Maurice is sketchy. We know he was the son of Pierre François Maurice and Marguerite Rabier, born on December 19, 1846 in a small rural community in the northeastern quarter of France: Vars, Haute‑Saône, Franche‑Comté. 

The mid nineteenth century in France was a time of political turmoil. King Louis-Phillipe I was forced to abdicate in 1848 ending the French monarchy and leading to the establishment of the Second French Republic. Industrialization was beginning to transform the country in the larger cities though the majority of the French populace remained poor. 

Vars, Haute‑Saône, Franche‑Comté

In this environment François Maurice entered an apprenticeship in the pottery industry. We don’t know why he left Vars at a time where most people lived and died within a few miles of there they were born. Perhaps it was the threat of war as the Franco-Prussian war was brewing. Or maybe it was pure ambition, but by 1869 he had moved to Paris and established his own workshop creating the kind of Palissy-style majolica popularized by Charles-Jean Avissaeu in Tours. We don’t know much about his workplace either aside from its location at 20 Rue de Basselins in Paris. This area had been a rural area of Charonne that had been incorporated into the city ten years earlier. From this small atelier on the outskirts of Paris came some wonderful things.

Maurice palissy frog leaf

Msurice palissy charger

Msurice palissy charger

Msurice palissy charger

Msurice palissy charger

Msurice palissy charger

Maurice palissy charger

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

François Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy bowl

Maurice palissy pitcher

Maurice palissy pitcher

Maurice palissy garniture set

Maurice palissy vase

Maurice palissy vase

Pair Maurice fish vases

Maurice palissy planter

Maurice palissy humidifier 

His earliest work is believed to be dated to his first years in Paris, around 1870. An overview of his plaque work display recurring motifs: a distinct style of a central focus, usually a fish or some other sea creature, surrounded by smaller sea life and vegetation against a dark textured background. When filled with water as intended these bowls provide a small marine vignette inside the home. The pieces also came with holes on the reverse for hanging, His hollowware is more random though he did have certain forms he returned to again and again like the faux bois vases and the frog spout pitchers shown above.

In 1889 he exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universalle at the Dôme Central of the Palais des Industries.

1889 Paris Exhinition Universalle

Palais des Industries

Entrance to the ceramic exhibit

Aside from his participation in the Exposition we don’t know which of his pieces were submitted or if his work was recognized by any awards. What we do know is that seven years after Universalle he died at the age of 49. For such a talented artist it’s surprising that the remainder of his life remains a cypher—a frustrating mystery to us today. We have no record of a surviving wife, children or siblings.

His work has been criticized as not having the finest glazes nor the best figural modeling compared to his contemporaries but these are small issues judged against the overall exquisite effect the pieces give.

Marks

Maurice left an impressive body of work, highly valued today. Much, but not all, of his work is signed F. Maurice with a hand drawn signature in the clay on the obverse of the piece. Unsigned pieces are usually simply attributed to the School of Paris.