French Soup Tureen - I

A generous lidded tureen, made to carry soup to the middle of a long French table and serve it there, ladle in hand. It was made at Lunéville in Lorraine, where faience has been made since 1728 and where the Keller and Guérin families ran the works from 1832. Their K&G mark became one of the best known names on French tableware. This tureen is in their Kléber pattern: sprays of blue flowers printed over a white glaze, with ribs and scrolls moulded into the body and lid. The side handles curl like knotted branches and the lid lifts by a looped twig handle to match. We found it, with the smaller tureen and the compotier from the same set, in a shop in L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, in Provence. It dates from the 19th century. We would set it on a sideboard with the lid slightly ajar, or fill it with white hydrangeas for the middle of a long table. Sold on its own. The smaller tureen and the compotier are listed separately.