Rouen Faience ceramics were finest in the late 17th century, but Faience artistry and elegance are given hommage in the lithographs by Ris-Paquot c1870 that can still be enjoyed today.
In 1526 the earliest French Faience ceramics workshop was established in Rouen to make decorative ceramic tiles. By the end of the 16th century Faience pottery was being made in Rouen, Lyon, Nièvre, Moustiers and Marseille - with individual styles of tin-glazed earthenware ceramics, and most with simple decoration, imitating Dutch delftware.
In 1656 Edmé Poterat (1612-1687) established a factory in Rouen in northern France and, with his sons, also initially imitated delftware, but with a base of warm, milky white translucent earthenware. They progressively became more creative - not only using blue decoration, they incorporated soft red, added yellow highlights, combined these colours for a soft brown, and even added green, for striking polychrome decoration. Beautiful Rayonnant decoration became their signature style, with repeat patterns creating exquisitely elegant cohesive designs.
Rouen faience decoration also incorporated coats of arms, including a blue and white platter decorated with the Poterat family coat of arms. The ornately decorated Rouen faience were so admired by the French 'Sun King' Louis XIV, that he commissioned them for use at his Versailles Palace.
Oscar-Edmund Ris (1834-1912) was an artist in Paris. In 1864 he married another artist, Louise Paquot, and adopted their combined name Ris-Paquot for Eugene Delaroque's Faience de Rouen colour-printed lithographs of the finest Faience, published in Paris c.1870.