Housel successeur de la Mre de la Reine - importante terrine - riche décor - vers 1796 - 1804

Free hand delivery in Paris
Or delivery for France : 20€.

Housel rue Thiroux, successor of Guy and Leuboeuf
Large terrine
Hard porcelain, finely painted and enhanced with gilding
Size : 30 x 32 cm.
Paris, Directoire or Consulat period

A very important Paris hard-paste porcelain serving piece, this terrine and its lid are decorated with garlands of flowers, seedlings and palmettes on a purple background. The handles are finely embellished with gilding. 

Housel rue Thiroux
One of the most talented porcelain factories in Paris at the end of the 18th century was undoubtedly the one founded by André Marie Leuboeuf, who had the Queen's protection. In 1794, during the revolutionary turmoil, he sold it to Guy, who also owned the Petit Carousel factory. Guy died in 1798 but Housel, who was the other shareholder, became the sole owner. Unfortunately, this temple of know-how, heir to the excellence of two separate factories, did not survive these successive changes and disappeared in 1804. 
The mark on our terrine is therefore very rare and allows a precise dating.

Hard porcelain in Paris in the early 19th century
In contrast to faience factories, porcelain factories flourished under the Empire, especially in Paris. The period 1800-1820 can be considered as the golden age of porcelain in Paris. There were nineteen manufactures in Paris in 1800, but only seven of them were founded under the Ancien Régime: Dihl and Guérard, Houzel, Lemaire and Josse, Pouyat and Russinger, Schoelcher, Despréz and Nast.

In contrast to the period of the last twenty years of the 18th century, marked by the passage from rocaille to antique simplicity, the first thirty years of the 19th century saw the opposite, evolving from antique sobriety to rococo. Our terrine, with its simple and elegant form, the decoration of palmettes and garlands of flowers, bears witness to the virtuosity of the craftsmen in Paris at the beginning of the 19th century.
The richness of the gilding highlights also shows that this is a real quality piece.

Condition report: 
A firing crack, and wear from use.