One of the most popular--and competitive--areas of majolica collecting is in French and Belgian figural animal pitchers.
Every imaginable type of animal is represented on these pitchers from cats and bunnies to rats and lobsters. They were largely the work of the Sarreguemines and St. Clément factories but were also created by Frie-Onnaing, Fives-Lille, Orchies, Wasmuël and other smaller potteries on the continent. They've proven so popular, in fact, that they are still being made today. (More on that later)
Every imaginable type of animal is represented on these pitchers from cats and bunnies to rats and lobsters. They were largely the work of the Sarreguemines and St. Clément factories but were also created by Frie-Onnaing, Fives-Lille, Orchies, Wasmuël and other smaller potteries on the continent. They've proven so popular, in fact, that they are still being made today. (More on that later)
Catalog page from Fourmaintraux Masse in Desvres
Orchies majolica puppy in barrel pitcher
Pöet-Laval majolica parrot
Orchies majolica bird pitcher
Unattributed elephant pitcher
with monkey handle
St. Clément majolica grasshopper
Desvres majolica pitcher
Poët-Laval majolica rat pitcher
Orchies majolica cat pitcher
Orchies majolica cat pitcher
Orchies majolica frog pitcher
Desvres majolica frog pitcher Esmirelda
N'oubliez pas la pauvre grenouille
Fives Lille frog pitcher
Massier majolica pig jug
Unattributed majolica langostine jug
Unattributed French majolica lion pitcher
Onnaing majolica rooster pitcher.
Copies come from St. Clément and Asia
Orchies majolica cat pitcher
rue Turbigo, Paris.” Made for 1900 Paris Exposition
Universelle.in two sizes.
Onnaing majolica rooster pitcher, Pichet Coq
Pöet-Laval majolica bear pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica monkey pitcher
Wasmuël monkey pitcher, Pichet Singe Mendiant
Sarreguemines majolica dog pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica bunny pitcher
St. Clément majolica duck in egg bottle
St. Clément majolica poodle bottle
Orchies majolica rabbit pitcher
Poët-Laval majolica goat jug
Onnaing majolica Hôtelier jug. Copied by Francis
Masse at Desvres with slight differences
Onnaing majolica pig pitcher, Cochon au Jambon. Also made
by Orchies with slight changes, shown below
Poët-Laval majolica squirrel pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica pig pitcher
St Clément/Sarreguemines elephant pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica bunny pitcher
St. Clément parrot pitcher
St. Clément monkey pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica pitcher Le Chamois
Sarreguemines majolica Pichet Levrier de Barzoi
Sarreguemines majolica pitcher Le Chevl
Sarreguemines majolica pitcher Le Lion
Sarreguemines majolica bulldog pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica curly horn ram pitcher
Sarreguemines majolica rooster pitcher
St. Clément parrot pitcher
St. Clément majolica parrot bottle
St. Clément majolica mallard pitcher
Garnier St. Clément majolica duck bottle
Originally sold as liqueur bottles for Garnier there's no proof that I know of that connects the highly addictive absinthe liqueur with the figural bottles although they are often sold that way on the secondary market. The dog bottle “Gypp” and the mallard duck bottle above it were definitely in use by the Garnier company to sell spirits up until 1930. Today, the Garnier company continues to sell other designs as liqueur containers but they no longer use the old molds.
Onnaing pig jug and Sarreguemines grotesque face pitcher in use
by factory workers in nineteenth century France
About Reproductions
As I mentioned earlier, many of these pitchers were until recently in production by the St. Clément pottery. To add to the confusion, St. Clément purchased the molds to many of the Sarreguemines pitchers and is reproducing them as well. They are being sold as reproductions by the factory, but deceptive—or just ignorant—dealers will often try to pass them off as antiques. There are ways, however, to tell the new pitchers from the old, most often by the mark on the base. Here are some other hints showing the things to look for with the current reproductions.
- Very glassy, glossy, glaze.
- A very acid lime-green [glaze] used on the piece.
- The wrong model numbers: Most old St. Clément animal pitchers will have a 3 digit model number or a 3 digit with a slash and another number (222/4). Please note, I said "most", not all. There are a few rare examples of 4 digit animal pitchers. The new animal pitchers usually have a 4 digit number. For instance, the new cat pitchers carry the number 7486 on the base, while the old one has the number 525. The new monkey pitchers bear the number 7490 while the old ones have 435.
- A Sarreguemines mold marked St. Clément: The two Sarreguemines molds used by St. Clément that I see most often in on-line auctions are the "Boar" (or Sanglier) with the number 5285 and the "Pink Pig" (or Cochon Rose) with the number 3318. These are both Sarreguemines model numbers, but the pitchers are marked with St. Clément marks.
Bertrand Cocq, who is a specialist in French and Belgian majolica offers this guide to the markings on Saint Clément reproduction pitchers using the duck pitcher above as an example:
Pitchers made from the original molds will have the interlocking KG for Keller & Guerin, the St.C mark and the model number 542 plus a number for the size either below it or separated by a slash. More recent reproductions will have an ink or impressed mark and no number or a four or five digit number on the base. Asian reproductions will only have a number on the base. Similar guidelines apply for the parrot and Onnaing rooster both copied by St. Clément. St. Clément ceased production sometime before the company closed in 2022.
Original St. Clement majolica duck pitcher dating from 1925-1930
Modern St. Clément duck pitcher
Modern St. Clément duck pitcher
Modern St. Clément duck pitcher reproduction
Modern Asian reproduction duck pitcher
I have an antique Sarreguemines pitcher Camel with a Revolutionary style hat on his head. I have him in my ebay shop but I want to know more about him. when made, etc. he is wonderful with crazing on inside but no chips or cracks.
ReplyDeleteIf you could send a photo to the email address listed in my profile I may be able to help you. Please include an image of the underside.
Delete