Turquoise Asparagus plate with a fern

Reproduced in Maryse Botero, Artichauts et Asperges en barbotine, Paris, Massin, Paris, p.70.

The earthenware factory Faïencerie de Clairefontaine was created in 1804 by Jean-François Estienne in the East of France, in Haute-Saône. The firm participated to the Exposition des produits de l'industrie française in 1806. When Estienne died, the firm was taken over by Jean-Baptiste Rigal, and had a great increase. Clairefontaine started to produce majolica in 1856 and barbotine-slip pieces in 1875. The firm was successful and got two bronze medals at the Paris Great Exhibition of 1878 and a silver medal in 1889. The business continued to flourish until 1913, when the owner Leon Graves died in an accident. The business collapsed and in 1938, it became a hospital annex.