Boch Frères Keramis antique handpainted 3-piece Delft blue Chinoiserie style garniture set

Nice small to medium sized antique handpainted Delft blue garniture set consisting of one round centre vase (22,2 cm high) with two beaker vases (18,5 cm high). The vases were made between 1874 and 1900 by Boch Frères Keramis in La Louvière, Belgium. The vases are decorated in Delft blue Chinoiserie style painted on white tin-glaze.

The centre vase has a flask like shape and is decorated with a fenced off garden with birds, flowers and insects. The decoration encircles the vase, it runs from the front down to the sides to the back. The neck of the vase is decorated with a two-sided design of Delft style ornaments. The two beaker vases have an octagonal (eight-sided) shape and have an identical two-sided decoration, featuring two different (somewhat mirrored) cartouches with birds aiming for an insect in a fantasy garden. The cartouches are surrounded by Delft style leaf and flower ornaments.

The inside of the vases is fully glazed. All three vases are ribbed, which adds sheen to the glaze.

The centre vase is signed at the bottom with a handpainted BFK (Boch Frères Keramis) mark, a model or series number ("130") and a painter’s signature ("D"). There is also an underlined number "229", which is probably a batch number. The same number is impressed in the ceramic.

The two beaker vases are both identically marked with a handpainted BFK (Boch Frères Keramis) mark, a model or series number ("500") and a painter’s signature ("B"). There is also the number 16/1, which is probably a batch number. The same number is impressed in the ceramic, with some additional letters ("L" and "KL").

Note: Most likely this set is not an original combination of vases, as garniture sets would normally consist of one or more covered (lidded) vases surrounded by matching beaker vases. In this case the covered vase has been replaced by a flask like vase, but in a very well matching style, which makes it a nice combination.

These vases were produced in the famous "Chambre des Peintres Hollandais" of Boch Frères Keramis (now Royal Boch) in La Louvière, Belgium. This was a special chamber at the BFK factory where handpainted Delft style ceramics were made in the best of Dutch traditions by Dutch painters hired from the Netherlands (from Delft and Maastricht).

The handpainted ceramics of the "Chambre des Peintres" were oriented towards the more wealthy customers, in addition to the main lines of ceramics from the factory which were produced for the more general public, in an industrial manner using transfer (printing) techniques.

A nice and playful garniture set of modest size but good quality. Great for decoration. The vases are very sturdy and fully glazed so they can also be used (with care) as actual flower vases.

Made by: Boch Frères Keramis (Royal Boch)

Place of manufacture: La Louvière, Belgium

Year of manufacture: between 1874 - 1900

Method of decoration: handpainted (tin-glaze)

Size: centre vase: height 22,2 cm, diameter 11,0 cm (capacity 0,7 litre), beaker vases: height 18,5 cm, diameter approx. 9,2 cm (capacity each 0,3 litre)

Weight: centre vase: 0,54 kg, beaker vases: 0,46 and 0,42 kg (Total weight of set: 1,42 kg)

Condition: the vases are in a good condition, with a few minor flaws. The glaze of the vases has only little wear and a nice gentle gloss. One beaker vase has some light crazing on the inside of the vase (see pictures). Aside from this, there is no crazing of the glaze on the vases. One beaker vase has a tiny glaze chip on the side, which is not very noticeable (see pictures). The white tin-glaze on the centre vase has been applied a bit thinly on the backside and near the sprout of the vase. This makes that the yellow coloured earthenware underneath it shines a bit through the glaze (see pictures). This uneven glazing is more often seen with Delft style vases of Boch Frères Keramis from this period. It is a characteristic of the artisanal way these vases were produced and should not be considered a defect.

Additional pictures of the objects can be provided if required.

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About Boch Frères Keramis (Royal Boch):

In 1844 the brothers Eugène and Victor Boch started a ceramic factory in La Louvière, in the mid-south of Belgium. The brothers were from the Boch family which also owned large ceramic factories in Germany and Luxembourg, under the famous name of Villeroy and Boch. The factory in La Louvière produced decorative ceramics and tableware in a variety of styles using transfer printing techniques (copperplate engravings transferred to ceramics).

Around 1874 the factory also started to produce fine handpainted ceramics in Delft style by hiring Dutch painters from the Netherlands. These Delft style pieces are signed with a handpainted mark which is a combination of the letters B F K. These products are known as products from the "Chambre des Peintres Hollandais" (the Dutch painters chamber). In addition to these Delft style pieces several other styles of handpainted ceramics were also made (in various French, Persian and Chinese styles), but these products have a different mark.

The production of the "Chambre des Peintres" ended somewhere around 1900, and the factory continued with production of transfer printed pieces (also in Delft style) and ceramics in Art Nouveau and later also Art Deco styles. From 1920 onwards the factory became well known for its high-quality pieces of the designer Charles Catteau, and later also Raymond Chevallier.

Like many other ceramic factories, Boch Frères Keramis during the sixties and seventies struggled to keep production profitable, facing a strong rise in labour costs. In 1985 the company went bankrupt and was liquidated. From 1985 to 2009 the ownership of the factory passed through several hands and production activities were reduced or split off. Since 2009 a new owner is active who tries to bring new life into the factory and to continue the legacy of the BFK brand. More information can be found on the website www.royalboch.com.

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This beautiful set will be very well and securely packed and send by tracked and insured mail.

If you buy multiple items from our shop, we will combine the shipping of these items. If the actual combined shipping costs are less than the shipping costs that you have already paid, we will refund the difference. So you will only pay the actual shipping costs.

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you may contact us within 14 days from the delivery date to return the item. If the item is returned in its original condition, we will issue a full refund (return costs are however not covered).