MUSÉE DE FAIENCE

Before leaving Sarregumine we were recommended to go to the Musée de Faience. What is Faience? Well it's also known as Majolica. Are you any the wiser? We weren't. Sarregumine was once the centre of Faience, with the whole town being actively involved in its manufacture or support roles. For those of you that are still guessing what Faience is the photograph below says it all.

Winter Garden of the apartments of Paul de Geiger director of Sarregumine faience c1900. All ceramic.

He decided to have a complete 'Winter Garden' made in illuminated pottery to showcase his factories. The room is now a historic monument and is mind blowing, everything is ceramic, stoneware and porcelain.

We particularly liked this piece as we were moored within this view to the left gatehouse.

Centrepiece for a dining table.

The musée is really a memorial to the town's history in ceramic production. They did illuminated tableware but there real excellence was the large fantasy pieces and monumental pieces.

A reproduction of a satirical sketch from a Paris magazine, huge, about 7 metres across.

The pieces were used in shops, breweries, spas, cafes, restaurants as they were hygienic, decorative and did not loose their colour. Well, that's enough history for one day.