Antique French Saint-Uze Farine Canister

Period: Late 19th to early 20th century

Size: 4¾ inches tall, 4½ inches in diameter

A Saint-Uze stoneware canister for flour, FARINE stenciled in blue across the front between two bands of transfer-printed flowers. The body is a fine cream stoneware under a clear glaze, thrown as a plain cylinder with a slightly flared rim and a ridge at the foot. The interior is glazed white, the base left bare. The lid is long gone, as it is on most of these. A hairline crack runs from the rim down one side, there is a small brown fleck on the front, and the glaze shows light crazing and staining inside. Wear consistent with age and use, sold as found.

Historical Context

Saint-Uze sits in the Drôme, on the Rhône south of Lyon, and its potteries turned out durable fine stoneware for French kitchens from the mid 19th century on. Their labeled canister sets, farine, sucre, café, sel, poivre and the rest, ran in graduated sizes and lined the shelves of nearly every household. The blue floral border was the house pattern, printed from a transfer so each piece matched the next.

Styling Ideas

The obvious job is wooden spoons by the stove, and it does that well. It also holds pencils on a desk, makeup brushes on a dresser, or a bunch of dried lavender. Group it with other blue and white pieces and the lettering becomes the point.