Flat plate, ironstone, Saint Amand, Margot decoration, Amandinoise company, 1920.

Here is a very beautiful earthenware plate known as "terre de fer" with a finely detailed floral decoration in a green-blue colour (or blue-green depending on the observer's perspective). The stamp of the Saint-Amand and Hamage factory on the back, referred to at that time as "Société Amandinoise," tells us that this plate dates from between 1900 (the company's founding) and 1923 when it changed its name first to "Faïences et Porcelaines de Saint-Amand-Orchies-Hamage" and then to Manufacture du Moulin des Loups-Hamage, and that it features the decoration called "Margot." Below, one can also faintly discern the marking in the material "terre de fer" in addition to the ink marking integrated into the stamp. It has neither cracks nor chips, but it does not hide its age: the earthenware is speckled with slightly darker spots than the original cream colour, giving the plate an off-white appearance, but it is also this hue, this patina that reflects its 100 years of history that adds to its charm. In my opinion, its purpose is now decorative, no longer for food, whether on a piece of furniture, on a wall, alone or in a collection, thus it will remain a testament to an era for decades to come without further deterioration. It measures 23.5 cm in diameter and 2.8 cm in maximum height.