Brocante ParisTHE JOURNAL OF OLD OBJECTS

FRENCH ANTIQUES · CONSIDERED INTERIORS

Large stoneware pitchers: shape, marks and display

Look at the relationship between the neck, spout, handle and body.

This former catalogue address now hosts an editorial guide. The object mentioned in the old listing is not advertised as available.

Read the profile

Look at the relationship between the neck, spout, handle and body. Record maximum width as well as height; a tall pitcher may need substantial shelf depth. Leave enough space to lift it without striking the shelf above. Compare the object with its intended neighbours rather than treating a close-up product image as a sense of scale.

Document the workshop reference

Blanot appeared in the former address. That reference is not a substitute for a documented workshop mark or provenance. Request a clear underside photograph and keep any proposed reading of a signature alongside the original image. Uncertain letters should remain uncertain rather than becoming a firm attribution through repetition.

Check vulnerable areas and choose the use

Examine the handle joins, spout and foot, and ask about repairs. A variation in glaze is not automatically damage, but a deep line cannot be evaluated from a distant image. If the pitcher will hold water, establish whether that use has been assessed. For a purely decorative grouping, relate its volume to lower objects and keep a photograph of the chosen arrangement.

For the next part of your selection, read Antique jars and pots: building a collection of forms.