{"product_id":"faience-serving-dish-1","title":"Antique French Faience Plate | Cul Noir | 19th Century","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis antique French faience plate has the contrast that makes cul noir (black bottom) pieces so interesting. The front is soft and pale with camaïeu blue decoration, while the entire back is glazed in deep manganese brown... this is where the name comes from. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe front is tin-glazed in a soft eau de Nil, or water of the Nile, color. At the center is a hand-painted panier fleuri (flower basket), painted in cobalt blue with manganese outlines. Around the rim, a banded geometric border gives the plate structure and frames everything beautifully.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis antique French cul noir plate was likely created in Normandy, in the Rouen style, at some point in the 19th century. No maker’s mark is visible. Pieces like this were often produced by regional faienceries, where the decoration was done by hand and repeated often enough that the brushwork has that confident country feeling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe scalloped rim gives the plate a pleasing shape, and at 32 cm across, it sits nicely between a charger and a serving dish. It is large enough to hold fruit on a counter, but also well proportioned for wall display as the centerpiece of a cul noir, Rouen, Nevers, or French country faience collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe age is visible along the rim, where small areas of glaze loss reveal the terracotta clay underneath. There are also use marks on the base and wear to the manganese glaze, all consistent with a long working life. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, it would be beautiful hung on a wall, displayed on a shelf, or placed on a counter filled with fruit. It can also be used to serve holiday meals for those special occasions as well.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Provence Collection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52307227541847,"sku":"FAI-003","price":479.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/4686\/4215\/files\/rouen-faience-large-serving-dish-blue-white-cul-noir-antique-2.jpg?v=1765193070","url":"https:\/\/theprovencecollection.com\/products\/faience-serving-dish-1","provider":"The Provence Collection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}