VINDEFONTAINE. Large glazed earthenware lenticular fountain - Lot 213

VINDEFONTAINE. Large glazed earthenware lenticular fountain decorated with sunflowers and plant motifs in kaolin pastillages, with bronze tap, the handles adorned with two ermines, topped by a large stopper in the shape of Napoleon I. Normandy, Manche, first half of the 19th century. Normandy, Manche, first half of the 19th century (H.: 73 cm) (chip at the faucet entrance, chip at the base of the stopper, and restoration to the Napoleon head) "Vindefontaine was home to one of the most important pottery centers in the Cotentin region. Pottery activity seems to have begun in the late Middle Ages and ended in 1894. Like all the other stoneware production centers in western Normandy, these workshops produced a wide range of utilitarian pottery: terrines, creamers, sinots, churns, bottles, honey pots, and so on. But Vindefontaine is most famous for its decorated pottery: pitchers, inkwells, stoup pots, vases and, in particular, brown-glazed stoneware fountains decorated with abundant kaolin pastillages." (Source: Traditional Ceramics in Normandy website) Cf: - Musée de Normandie in Caen - Musée de Cherbourg for a stopper in the shape of Napoleon - Sale November 18, 2023, Aisne Enchères, lot 170. Provenance: Jean Seguin Collection (1893-1954), transmitted by descent. Item listed in the Dr. Stephen-Chauvet catalog "La céramique bas-normande ancienne - Livre I", Librairie Guénégaud, reference 107.