Original Watercolor of French Porcelain Home Designs

This superb original watercolor is from the production catalog from Francis Masse and Fourmaintraux et Successeurs entitled Catalogue d’aquarelles de fa??ence de Desvres. The collection was completed for Desvres between 1870 and 1940.

The watercolors were intended to illustrate the models from the faience and porcelain manufactories of Desvres including the Fourmaintraux-Hornoy, Fourmaintraux Fre?res, Jules Fourmaintraux, Francis Masse (successor), and Vve Francis Masse workshops.

The porcelain and faience objects are beautifully rendered and decorated, some in the style of Louis XV. Some of the watercolors have notations for the manufactory, annotations of different scenes available, or pricing according to diameter. Offerings of trays, dishes, sconces, vase, bowls, and more were available in the catalog.

The Fourmaintraux family and successors were the heart of the Desvres faience manufacturing. Francois-Joseph Fourmaintraux was a painter-turner at Desvres’ Grand-Place (around 1765). He founded his own manufactory in 1804 that left a mark on the ceramic industry throughout the 1800s. His four sons created the First Fourmaintraux Frères company which lasted until 1884. His eldest son, Louis-François Fourmaintraux, then took over under the name Fourmaintraux-Hornoy. In 1863, Charles-François Fourmaintraux-Courquin (third generation), created a tile factory. Under the Fourmaintraux, the Desvres label became a mark of quality, with peak popularity between 1878 and 1886. The Fourmaintraux dynasty continued with Gabriel (4th generation), Claude (5th generation), and Olivier (6th generation). In the 1990s Masse Frères and G. Fourmaintraux merged creating Faïencerie MasseFourmaintraux.