I recently picked up some Bavent pottery from a sale. Have you heard of it? I did some research online and there is not a lot written about it. It comes from France from a factory called “Poterie du Mesnil de Bavent”. It was started in 1842 by Maurice Comptet. It is a tile factory that produced, well, tile. It also produced pots and finials. The clay finials would go on top of the roofs of local businesses to show buyers what they had to offer. Of course there is whimsy.
They also produce many animals – many of which are meant to sit on the roof! Haha! I had no idea! This just cracks me up! Since they are made of clay, they are actually quite tough and can survive the elements. The pictures below are from the Bavent boutique.
But production slowed with D-Day. Bavent is only 10km from the D-day beaches. Like many villages in Normandy, most of the town of Bavent was destroyed. The art of this pottery was almost lost – until one day, in the 1960s, Martine Kay Mouat decided to purchase and restore the business. She was an apprentice the factory and the skills were continued on. Her daughter, Monique, still operates the business today.
The factory is still in business. Here is their website. If you’re in the area, you can visit!
They produced a lot of pigeon, rabbits, ducks and chickens. I would say they were definitely inspired by the local animals!
So, from my limited research, it seems there were two periods of production 1842-1940s and then 1960s-today. How do you know if you have an antique piece? Well, that I do not know. Sometimes it just takes skill to figure it out – does it “feel” old? The pieces though should all say Bavent on it, either stamped in the pottery or painted.
A few final pictures of the Bavent animals on random rooftops in Deauville, photos from 365 Things I love about France. There is not much written about this and why the locals did this. I will tell you why – because it’s funny! Now I’m off to figure out how to affix my faux pigeon to my rooftop… the pigeons that live on my roof will be very confused!
update… 1/20/23. I was looking through my Normandy pictures from my trip some years ago and spotted this house I took a picture of… with Bavent birds!
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