Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 139, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Vase

1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This company is often known simply as Gien Pottery, after its location in that city. It was established in about 1822 by Merlin Hall, the English founder of the factory of Creil & Montereau, which specialised in earthenwares decorated with English scenes to appeal to the English market. The pottery in Gien, on the other hand, specialised in traditional French earthenwares with scenes and motifs taken from French historical sources, heraldic emblems and contemporary politics. In 1856 it came under the ownership of Geoffroy, Guérin & Cie and thereafter it exhibited at international exhibitions in Paris (1844, where it won an award) and 1867, in London (1862) and Vienna (1873). By the late 1880s it was being criticised for decorated surfaces imitating materials such as wood, and praised for the increasingly immense size of its wares - some vases reached 3 metres in height and 1.2 metres in diameter.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Earthenware, printed and painted
Brief description
Vase, earthenware, made by Geoffroy, Guerin & Cie, Gien, France, 1870
Physical description
Two-handled vase with ovoid body and flattened rim. Decorated with renaissance motifs of amorini riding on dogs and foliate scrolls
Dimensions
  • Height: 12cm
  • Diameter: 10cm
Marks and inscriptions
'Gien' within a scroll and beneath a turret
Subjects depicted
Summary
This company is often known simply as Gien Pottery, after its location in that city. It was established in about 1822 by Merlin Hall, the English founder of the factory of Creil & Montereau, which specialised in earthenwares decorated with English scenes to appeal to the English market. The pottery in Gien, on the other hand, specialised in traditional French earthenwares with scenes and motifs taken from French historical sources, heraldic emblems and contemporary politics. In 1856 it came under the ownership of Geoffroy, Guérin & Cie and thereafter it exhibited at international exhibitions in Paris (1844, where it won an award) and 1867, in London (1862) and Vienna (1873). By the late 1880s it was being criticised for decorated surfaces imitating materials such as wood, and praised for the increasingly immense size of its wares - some vases reached 3 metres in height and 1.2 metres in diameter.
Collection
Accession number
1439-1870

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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