Pair of Thulin earthenware vases, Belgium

Pair of very decorative earthenware vases in dark blue and grey metallic color. Marked on the bases. Great condition.

Size: H 30cm – diameter of the bases 12 cm

Manufactory of Thulin in Belgium, art deco period.

Lit : The earthenware factory in Thulin near Mons was founded in 1887 by the industrial Victor Ducobu-Decaudin in a former sugar factory. Thanks to substantial capital, he transformed the buildings and introduced three coal-fired ovens and a steam engine. Victor Ducobu died in 1897 and his two children became owners. The company was managed by Arthur Decobu until 1918, then after his death by his sister Victoria Legay-Decobu. She transformed the company into a limited company in 1920. At the death of Victoria Decobu, the company was liquidated; the Société Anonyme des Faïenceries de Thulin succeeded it in 1923. Between the wars, the factory employed 70 to 100 workers. The commercial success was international, and in Paris the merchant Eugène Val, based in Faubourg Saint Martin, ensured distribution. The products offered are numerous: brown ovenware called Tellurite; objects in the Art Deco style such as vases, planters, jugs, smoker’s sets and fireplace trimmings. These objects are made by casting in fine earthenware and covered with glazes or coloured enamels. In 1955, the factory was modernized by replacing the coal-fired kilns with electric ones. But competition was strong in the 1960s and the situation deteriorated until the company went bankrupt in 1971.