Lead-GlazedRustiques Figulines(Rustic Ceramics) of Bernard Palissy (1510-90) and his Followers

Abstract

The glaze chemistry of a group of rustiques figulines attributed to the renowned French potter Bernard Palissy (1510-90), or to his followers and imitators, has been determined nondestructively using PIXE and PIGE analyses. The glazes are all lead silicates, the colourants being transition metal oxides-CuO, CoO, MnO and Fe 2 O 3 -with a small addition of SnO 2 to some of the glazes being common. Some distinction can be made between the various fabricated objects based on details of the overall composition and on the concentrations of the various colourants. The presence of B 2 O 3 in any glaze, even in quantities as small as 0.1-0.3%, indicates a post-16th century production. Additionally, B 2 O 3 in larger quantities, a few per cent or greater, very probably indicates an 18th-19th century production. However, at least one object known to be of 19th century production contains no B 2 O 3 .

French Decorative Ceramics Mass‐Produced During and After the 17th Century: Chemical Analyses of the Glazes

“…These dishes were used to check the validity of the boron ‘timescale’ postulated in Bouquillon et al . (). The portrait of the royal family shown in Figure (a) is based on a well‐known print by Léonard Gaultier, after a painting of François Quesnel, published in Paris in 1602.…”

“…S2) from the Louvre Museum that have aspects of both a rustique figuline (Bouquillon et al . ) and a decorative object. The OA 1357 platter contains snakes, frogs and so on in the central portion, with radiating flowers on the rim, while OA 1335 shows the Abduction of Proserpine in the centre, with leaves, shells, small animals and suchlike on the rim.…”

“…Palissy is now accepted by art historians as the inventor of the revolutionary use of life‐cast objects to decorate unique glazed ceramics called ‘ rustiques figulines ’ (Bouquillon et al . , ). The production of the remarkable ‘ rustique figuline ’ artefacts continued after their invention by Palissy in the 16th century, albeit with some variations in the design and in the chemical compositions of the glazes; artefacts of this type have been produced up to modern times (Amico ).…”

“…These dishes and plates are from the same group of museums that provided the rustiques figulines studied by Bouquillon et al . (), and include objects containing figures from the French royal family, biblical scenes and classical figures (Figs and ). As opposed to the rustiques figulines , these artefacts are well represented in museums and were clearly mass‐produced.…”

“…The aims of the present work are to compare the glaze analyses of 13 decorative objects with those reported by Bouquillon et al . (, ) on rustiques figulines and to further consider their possible links with post‐16th century rustique figuline production. We compare these data with similar analytical data from a suite of more than 20 objects from various French museums described by Bouquillon et al .…”