Aprey Faience

Aprey faience, tin-glazed earthenware produced by the factory of Jacques Lallemant de Villehaut, Baron d’Aprey, established in 1744 on his estate at Aprey, near Dijon, Fr. The early pieces, which are heavy and rather crude, recall blue-and-white earthenware in the Rouen style or have Rococo forms decorated with chinoiseries (motifs influenced by the Chinese), flowers, and birds. From about 1772 to 1781 the activity of the painters Jacques Jarry and Antoine Mège established the factory’s reputation for brilliant, exotically styled bird and flower decoration, with such devices as miniature landscapes on Rococo scrolls. Aprey continued to produce until the mid-19th century, but without distinction, copying earlier ware from its own molds.