{"product_id":"rare-burgundy-cul-noir-platter-circa-1800","title":"Antique French Cul Noir Faience Platter | Manganese Only | Late 18th.","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis antique French cul noir platter is special because it is painted entirely in manganese. Most cul noir (black bottom) pieces have blue cobalt decoration on the pale tin-glazed front, with the dark manganese glaze reserved for the back. This one is different and rare. The front and back both carry that warm brown manganese tone, known in French as camaïeu manganèse, and that makes this piece much harder to find.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe platter likely dates from the late 18th century, around 1770 to 1800, consistent with Norman provincial faience from the period. The lobed shape, called \"à contours\" in French, was popular with regional workshops in Normandy. The front has a hand-painted basket of flowers at the center, with a simple foliate band tracing the shaped edge. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTurn it over and the deep manganese back gives the platter its cul noir identity. It contrasts beautifully with the lighter front but the all-manganese decoration is what makes this example so interesting. It is the kind of detail collectors notice because it sits outside the more common blue-and-white cul noir style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe age is visible along the rim, where the glaze has thinned and the warm orange terracotta shows through. There is also wear to the back and surface from more than two centuries of handling, use and display. These are the details that give old French faience its depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday, it would be beautiful hung on a wall, displayed on a sideboard, or set flat with a few pears or walnuts. It has the presence of a serving piece, the history of Norman country pottery, and the rarity of a color treatment that is genuinely difficult to source. It brings something absolutely distinctive to a cul noir collection.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Provence Collection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52580798595415,"sku":"FAI-031","price":615.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/4686\/4215\/files\/burgundy-cul-noir-style-oval-earthenware-platter-1.jpg?v=1768815539","url":"https:\/\/theprovencecollection.com\/products\/rare-burgundy-cul-noir-platter-circa-1800","provider":"The Provence Collection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}