Vintage Henriot Quimper Lugged Bowl in Yellow and Blue with Breton Woman

A vintage Henriot Quimper lugged bowl in yellow and blue French faience, hand painted with a Breton woman and finished with two sponged blue handles, signed Henriot Quimper France on the base.

Small, sunny and full of cheer, this is a little bowl that brightens a table the moment it lands. Inside, a Breton woman in a white coiffe, green bodice, yellow apron and blue skirt stands on a strip of grass holding a posy, framed by rings of cobalt and black and a wide band of buttercup yellow. The outside is creamy white with a single blue line, and the two flat lugs are sponged in deep blue, the traditional shape of the Breton eared bowl, or écuelle.

Henriot was one of the great Quimper factories, and its painters turned out these little Breton figures by hand for well over a century, each one slightly different from the last. The base is painted Henriot Quimper France 144. The colours are crisp and bright and the glaze has a lovely soft sheen.

The bowl measures 15cm across the handles, 10.5cm in diameter and 5.5cm in height.

We love it filled with green olives for aperitifs, salted almonds or pistachios, or kept on a dressing table for rings and earrings. It would sit happily beside other blue and yellow Quimper pieces on an open shelf, and makes a cheerful present for anyone who loves France, Brittany or a sunny kitchen.