History of the
Faience manufacture of NIMY
(Click on the
photograph to increase it)
The faience manufacture of Nimy was established by Namurian, Dieudonne-Joseph Antoine who having solicited magistrates of Mons the authorization to create a faience manufacture there, signs a contract of association with François de Bousies, Viscount of Rouveroy and Bonaventure de Bousies, mayor of Mons.
But the Royal Council of the government refuses the application and Antoine turns to the village of Nimy in order to install his manufacture near Hatred there and of his mills.
Indeed, it was essential to find a driving force to actuate the grinding stones intended for the crushing of the raw materials of the faience manufacture. However the chapter of Holy Waudru having with Nimy several mills with flour and oil rented in Sieur Carlier. By a contract July 22, 1789, this last begins towards the Brothers Dung-beetle to obtain chapter that there should be rebuilt, other coast of the river, the mill with oil and this “so that a wheel and only one rotating shaft feroit to play the rope twister and the faience manufacture at the same time”. Moreover, it is agreed that a building doubles will be also built to shelter the equipment of manufacture.
During this same year, Antoine addresses a request to the government in order to obtain the favors which usually manufactures enjoy which open in the Austrian Netherlands and a granting of Joseph It confers on the new faience manufacture the title of “Imperial and Royal Factory”, exempts it import duties for the tools and the raw materials as well as export duties and of tonlieu for all the products “realizing that the parts leaving the factory are marked initial letters of DieudonnéJoseph Antoine in Nimy”.
Seven furnaces of the Faience manufacture
Transport of the parts towards the workshops.
The following year, the faience manufacture
produces already a great number of usual objects and fourth associated
is allowed in the company, the Baron Procope de Secus.
During
the years 1791 to 1796, the faience manufacture saw in a precarious way
until an agreement of the associates gives the direction between the
hands of Bonaventure Hyacinthe de Bousies.
This
one will be devoted to the development and the modernization of the
company. It makes build new buildings, opens stores in Brussels, Lille
and Maubeuge, diversifies the production and introduces polychromy into
the decoration of the parts manufactured.
Whereas
only the cobalt blue had been used, it extends the range of the colors
to the yellow, the English black, the green, the red. It imitates
marbled employed in England and the jonquil of Douai.
Result:
manufacture is growing, the benefit increase and all the debts are
refunded.
The
factory is increased and in 1806, it occupies 24 turners and mouleurs
and 17 painters. New furnaces are built.
In
1810, Joseph de Bousies dies and the direction will be ensured by his/her
brother. At this time, manufacture employs 250 workmen and it takes part
in many exposures in Ghent, Haarlem, Brussels. But the massive export of
English earthenware will put the faience manufacture in danger.
In
1833, this one occupies nothing any more but 30 to 40 workmen. The
situation reaches soon such a gravity that Charles-Alexandre de Bousies,
wire of the Viscount of Rouveroy plans to offer its manufacture to Eugen
von Boch, who will prefer to choose the pottery of Vaast Saint in
Louvière.
In
spite of multiple difficulties, the faience manufacture manages to
maintain its activities until 1848. Associate then decide to entrust
management of it to François Declercq, who had a porcelain factory has
Baudour.
Finally,
the faience manufacture is sold in 1849 to Jean-Pierre Mouzin, director
of the Keramis faience manufacture in Saint Vaast, Theophilus Lecat main
potter and other shareholders for the sum of 60.000 francs.
A
company into active is created under the corporate name
“Declercq and
company”
but it is dissolved in January 1851 and it is the company
" Mouzin-Lecat and
Co” which
will manage the establishment henceforth. This one knows a renewal of
prosperity consequently.
Personnel of the Faience manufacture
Visit of King Albert 1st
Modern
material makes it possible to compete with competition and the company
repurchases in 1858 the faience manufacture of Onnaing in France and
creates in 1878 the manufacture of Wasmuel.
In
1897, the factory employs 675 workmen and occupies a surface of more
than five hectares. The following year, the company into active becomes
a limited company. Its activity starts to decrease.
In
1914, it does not count any more that 410 workmen and the war
accentuates his bad situation because most of the workmen are off-set in
Germany.
In
1921. the establishment is yielded to the ceramic Company of Maëstricht
and the second world war, the closing of many foreign markets, will
carry a fatal blow to him.
It
ceases any activity in 1950 and the buildings are demolished 4 years
later.
During
all the duration of its activities, the establishment employed workmen
whose majority belonged to old families of faience manufacturers bus has
Nimy, one was it of wire father. The faience manufacture occupied many
boys and girls of 14 A 17 years that one formed with the trade and that
one paid besides rather little. Fine earthenware realizes has Nimy is
different from English ballasting by the chalk amount which uses its
composition. The generally lead-containing glaze is characterized by its
smoothness and its transparency from the stanniferous cover which masks
the coloured grounds used by French earthenware.
Moreover,
one continued has Nimy, with the example of the manufacture of Boch, to
introduce into the paste a calcining
(mixture of sand
and soda having undergone a beginning of fusion to be vitrified)
intended to make
it more solid and whiter than ordinary earthenware.
In addition to
the articles of household, the faience manufacture manufactured torches
decorated with figures, groups out of cookie
“Belgium and
Champêtre”,
pipes with heads of women and old men, vases, stoups, dials of clock.
11 had there in
the production, of the round and oval dishes way money, on corrugated or
plain board, of the salad bowls of ordinary or twisted form of the style
in vogue during 18th and 19th century: Rubble and Neo-classic. The blue
camaieu Decorations were sober and generally borrowed from other famous
establishments, in particular that of Septfontaines but the faience
manufacture also created original reasons of which most known is
certainly a formed floweret at large points, represented only
“with the
forget-me-not”
derived from the
barbel from Separate or in bouquet
“with the flower
of Heather”.
The representation of the characters played only one role limited even
if one tested a decoration where Chinese with the large hat and the
deployed parasol moves on a flowered terrace.
Visit of Prince Léopold in 1927
