{"product_id":"faience-serving-dish-2","title":"Antique French Cul Noir Faience Charger | Hand Painted Panier Fleuri | Late 18th","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis antique French cul noir (black bottom) faience charger has a lighter, more joyful feeling than many pieces in this category. Even with the dark manganese glaze on the back, the front feels fresh and almost youthful, with a bright blue hand-painted panier fleuri at the center. It has that old country charm that makes French faience so easy to love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cream tin-glazed interior is decorated with a stylized blue flower basket, or panier fleuri, with leafy foliage rising from the center. Around the rim, a simple blue border gives the plate structure without taking attention away from the central design. The reverse is fully glazed in dark manganese in the cul noir tradition, giving the piece its telltale black-bottom character.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis antique French cul noir charger likely dates from the late 18th to early 19th century, consistent with the Rouen and Forges-les-Eaux faience tradition. The decoration is hand painted, with the kind of confident folk-style brushwork that feels simple at first, but only because the person doing it had likely painted this kind of motif many times before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe age is visible in all the right places. Crazing runs through the tin glaze, and small chips along the rim reveal the orange terracotta clay underneath. On the reverse edge, there are tiny spur marks from where the piece rested in the kiln during firing... a lovely detail that speaks to hand production in a small country workshop.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA vintage twisted wire mount is fixed across the manganese back, so the charger is ready to hang on the wall. It would be beautiful grouped with other cul noir, Rouen, Nevers, or French country faience pieces. It's equally beautiful placed on a kitchen shelf where the blue and white decoration can brighten the room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt has the balance I love in old French pottery: usefulness, handmade charm and enough age to make it invariably interesting.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Provence Collection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52310030156119,"sku":"FAI-002","price":425.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/4686\/4215\/files\/rouen-faience-serving-dish-blue-floral-cul-noir-large-2.jpg?v=1765224080","url":"https:\/\/theprovencecollection.com\/products\/faience-serving-dish-2","provider":"The Provence Collection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}