Strasbourg Faience Dish by Paul Hannong, circa 1755
This 18th-century faience dish was hand-painted in the factory of Paul Hannong in Strasbourg, France. The flowers are exquisite!
Paul Hannong, and his brother Joseph, were known for the fabulous flower painting on their faience. This finely painted plate was decorated with gorgeous flowers in the mid-18th century, circa 1755. The border of the dish is molded with six slightly lobed panels. The edge is painted dark brown.
French faience of this type was used at the court of Louis XV as part of elaborate meals and displays.
.The dish’s underside is marked in underglaze blue with Paul Hannong’s “IH” cipher over “90” written in brown (see images).
An oval dish decorated with similar hand-painted flowers can be found in Christie’s auction on May 29, 2001, Auction 2507 EUROPEAN CERAMICS, DUTCH DELFTWARE, AND GLASS Lot 165. It is attributed by Christie’s to Paul Hannon.
Dimensions: Diameter 9.5.”
Background of French Faience
Faience, or tin-glazed and enameled earthenware, first emerged in France during the sixteenth century, reaching widespread usage among elite patrons during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Faience is distinguished by the opaque white color achieved by adding tin oxide to the glaze. French faience is typically divided into two types. Grand feu (high fire) describes pieces decorated with glaze and metallic oxides before being fired a single time at a high temperature of around 1650°F (900°C). Petit feu (low-fire) faience refers to a process whereby the clay body is fired before glazed, decorated with metallic oxides, and then fired at a lower temperature. The lower firing temperature of petit feu faience enabled greater precision in painting techniques and greater variety in the range of colors.