Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

In the 18th century, the ancient Parthenay earthenware found its roots, but its growth occurred at the end of the 19th century under the impulse of Prosper Jouneau (1852-1921). Trained at the Sèvres factory, this native of Parthenay founded in 1882 with Henri Amirault, a workshop combining traditional know-how and techniques inspired by the ceramicists of the Renaissance. Their production, marked by applique decorations and oven blues, embodies a hybrid style between academicism, ancient and Renaissance, in vogue at the time.

Jouneau's masterpiece remains his tiled ceiling, presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1889. Awarded with a gold medal and hailed by President Sadi Carnot, this ceiling — now exposed at the Agesci Museum in Niort — asked for more than a year of work. Its complex structure, adorned with florets, lamp ass and statuettes of Renaissance kings and queens, bears witness to exceptional technical virtuosity. The earthenware, active until 1914, is in line with historical workshops such as those of Oiron or Saint-Porchère.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 2020, the site retains its central pavilion and the plaster model of the ceiling, installed upstairs. These protected elements recall the artistic heritage of Jouneau, whose ambition was to equalize the Renaissance earthenware. Approximate address, 16 Impasse de la faiencerie, places the place in a neighborhood with unknown industrial heritage, despite a GPS location deemed mediocre (note 5/10).

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