Now and then I’ll come across lovely bouquets of majolica flowers for sale at auction. These floral decorations are often seen decorating the tables and mantels of collectors and well other appointed homes. It occurred to me that more often than not the owners aren’t aware of the history behind these beautiful decorations.
I was inspired to write this post because the French tradition of decorating graves with these majolica flowers is basically unknown outside of France, Brussels and Switzerland. It’s a lovely tradition. Creating ceramic flowers that will never die assures these cemeteries will be filled with color and joy year round.
The French potteries Choisy-le-Roi and Sarreguemines were both among the producers of these grave decorations in the late Nineteenth century and early Twentieth century. At the Sarreguemines museum there are several examples of their grave decor.
20th century Sarreguemines mark on the back of grave flower
The catalog number dates it between 1882-1889
While this tradition began at the end of the Nineteenth century, they continued in production through the Twentieth century. In fact they are still in production today by current companies like the one founded by Henri Mahieu in Northern France in the early 1900s. No longer technically Victorian majolica, they are still quite beautiful. Many of these are simply signed Made In France.
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