Boch Frères Keramis antique handpainted Delft blue style 'garlic-neck' vase

Medium sized (26 cm high) antique handpainted Delft style "garlic-neck" vase (the Dutch name for this type of vase is "knobbelvaas", which translates to "knob vase"). The vase is made between 1874 and 1900 by Boch Frères Keramis in La Louvière, Belgium. The vase has a classic Delft Chinoiserie style decoration painted on a white tin-glaze. In Dutch it is called a "Peterselie decor", which translates to "Parsley decor". It is characterised by flowers (or other elements, such as birds) being surrounded by parsley-like leaves and groups of dots. In this case the decoration features birds and two types of stylised flowers. The knob, shoulders and foot of the vase are decorated with Delft style leaf and flower ornaments. The vase is fully glazed on the inside.

The vase is signed at the bottom with a handpainted BFK (Boch Frères Keramis) mark, with below it the number "56" and the letter "K". The number 56 is as far as we know the decor number, while the letter K is the painter's signature. Next to the BFK mark there is an additional number "82/1". Of this "82" is the vase model number. The /1 probably indicates the size (with other sizes of the same model being marked as /2 or /3 respectively). Impressed in the clay we also find the number "82", a large capital "Z" (of which the meaning is unknown to us) and two unidentifiable marks.

There is a drilled hole in the bottom, which means that the vase once served as a lamp base, which was fashionable at the time.

This vase was 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" was 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.

The vase has a small glazing error at its foot (see detail picture). Also around the rim of the vase the white tin-glaze has been a bit thinly applied, which makes that the yellow-coloured earthenware underneath shines through. These imperfections are more often seen with Delft style vases of Boch Frères Keramis from this period. It is a characteristic of the artisanal way the vases were produced and should not be considered a defect.

Aside from the glazing errors, the vase is in a very good condition. There are no damages, cracks, hairlines or restorations. The glaze shows very little wear and has a beautiful gentle gloss. There is some crazing of the glaze around the mouth of the vase, while on the other parts there is not.

A beautiful classic Delft style vase which is great for decoration. It will fit into a variety of interiors, from classic to modern.

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: height 26,2 cm, diameter 12,7 cm. Capacity (with the hole plugged :-)): exactly 1 litre.

Weight: 840 g

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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