Antique ironstone tureen – Bordeaux MGB – blue floral decoration

Elegant stamped fine earthenware soup tureen, produced in 1880 and attributed to the Jules Vieillard & Cie factory or its successors. A magnificent naturalistic decoration printed underglaze with garlands of foliage and flowers in blue monochrome, very finely engraved - they look like clematis, which is quite rare. Typical of the bourgeois service of the late 19th century, with its sculpted rocaille handles and its domed lid with an openwork grip highlighted with small relief motifs that add to the finesse of this ceremonial piece. Stamped Terre de fer - Bordeaux: a stylized globe with a ribbon, accompanied by the words BORDEAUX above, and TERRE DE FER below. This is a stamp of the Vieillard & Cie factory, a large Bordeaux earthenware factory active in the 19th century. Vieillard & Cie, then Jules Vieillard, is one of the main manufacturers of fine earthenware in Bordeaux. Diameter 22 cm (27 cm including the handles), height without lid 10.5 cm (16 cm including the lid). Beautiful vintage condition, patina of time with some marks of its age, cracks, a hairline crack on the lid, another tiny one at the bottom, traces of old stains inside on the edge and wear of the handles (see Photos). A beautiful example of Bordeaux know-how for a charming kitchen or a collection of antique earthenware. For a vintage table, a chic country kitchen decor or a diversion as a floral centerpiece, this piece has real character.