French Country · Encyclopedia · Pottery and Earthenware
Colander
A Pré-d'Auge colander in deep green glaze colored with copper oxide, with a strong handle and a wide rim shaped by the potter's thumb so it could rest on a bowl. Household pieces in such good condition are rare.
French: passoire · Pré-d'Auge, Normandy
At a glance
- Center: Pré-d'Auge, Normandy
- Glaze: deep green from copper oxide
- Features: strong handle, wide thumb-shaped rim
- Rarity: kitchen pottery rarely survives in good condition
What it is
A pierced earthenware bowl for draining. The rim is wide and shaped by the potter's thumb so it can rest across another vessel, and a solid handle makes it easy to lift.
Pré-d'Auge pottery
The Pré-d'Auge, in Normandy, was known for pottery covered with a beautiful deep green obtained from copper oxide in the glaze. Everyday kitchen pieces were used hard and broken often, which is why the book stresses how rare a colander in this condition is.
Collecting and using one today
Check for cracks between the holes, where pottery is weakest. Keep it for display or dry uses.
A green colander filled with fruit or lemons is a classic touch on a country kitchen table.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 130–135, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.