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The faience
manufacture of Wasmuël was born in 1834 of the direction Isidore Paulus,
old directing of the manufacture of Onnaing. His wife Joséphine Renau
succeeded to him her death in 1852, it increases and modernized the
factory in particular by the purchase of a steam engine in 1865.
Unfortunately, we do not know any part of this time. According to
certain files, stanniferous current crockery would have been produced.
It was of two types: one out of red ground and the other out of
yellowish ground. A white glaze with tin applied to the yellowish ground
coins, while those of red ground were of two colors, opaque white with
tin inside and brown sinks more or less transparent outside. Fine
earthenware at coasts, fine coasts or coasts of Turned would have been
produced in Wasmuël. In 1878, the faience manufacture périclite. Auguste
Mouzin takes again the direction by renting the factory for a 9 years
lease.
From 1880, it repurchases grounds (of which that of Paulus) and
increases the faience manufacture. One finds with manufacture a certain
number of very tested people who go and come from a manufacture to the
other: François Dubois, Henri Mahieu, Emile Lombart, Arthur Ollinger, E.
Small, Jean-baptiste Tastenoe, Frederic Thurner, Desired Tuna, etc….As
of the resumption of the Paulus faience manufacture, the ground with
fire remains but the stanniferous earthenware of everyday usage is
abandoned with the profit of feldspathic fine earthenware to English.
The production of the factory is more particularly directed towards the
objects of imagination whose monumental parts which invaded the
interiors during second half of the 19th century and whose vogue was
prolonged through Modern Style until the time 1900. In 1893, France
increases the customs duties and the export of the decorative coins
becomes difficult, the production thus will turn to the manufacture of
crockery of table. In 1899, with died of Auguste Mouzin, his son-in-law
Eugene Meyer takes again the businesses. He continues installations of
the factory in order to increase the production of crockery, while
continuing the realization of decorative coins and majolic. In 1901
three new furnaces of which two in the shape of hive are built. In 1902,
of the company is amended and the faience manufacture is made up in
Limited company. The factory takes the name of Limited company of
Wasmuël. In 1907, Eugene Meyer dies and his/her Henry son finds himself
with the head of manufacture at the 22 years age. Director of the
Faience manufacture during more than forty years, Henry Meyer knew the
end of the Art nouveau and majolic, the period Art Déco and the style of
the Thirties. The time of monumental ceramics and the large decorative
coins finishes with the war of 1914-1918. The decoration painted with
the hand which remains beside the impression is gradually competed with
by the “vapo” and the transfer. After the war, the fashion changes, the
production becomes much more banal and is directed towards current
coins. The most successful most original coins or of this time are the
sets of vases Art Déco and the cracked animals sails about it in the
Thirties. The exposure of Paris of 1937 corresponds to a test of
artistic revival in industrial ceramics in Belgium to which Henri Meyer
adheres by adopting to Wasmuël the painter Robert Van Nérom sent by
Henri van of Velde for the preparation of the exposure whose instruction
is to create modern models, sober, discrete, functional, resulting from
simple geometrical forms. The exposure will be a success, Henri Meyer is
decorated with the Legion of Honor. During the war 1940-1945, the
production of crockery of everyday usage overrides the artistic
activities. After the release, Robert Van Nérom carries out decorative
coins again. Unfortunately, it will be the last period ostentation, the
faience manufacture starts to have financial problems and must be
resigned to a production almost strictly commercial. Vis-a-vis the
competition of the less expensive foreign coins and difficulties of
supply fuel, manufacture lodges a request for legal settlement in 1951.
July 24 of this same year the legal settlement is approved by the Court
Commercial of Mons. The faience manufacture is then put in liquidation
and since 1952, one starts to demolish it. Today, there remains about it
only one crane, a chimney and some mixers. |
