Quimper pottery is named after the Breton town in northwestern France where it has been made for over 300 years. A charming, colorful pottery, it is a faience ware, which means hand-painted, tin enamel-glazed earthenware.

Often the theme is peasant images, seashore or fishing scenes.

Quimper is highly collectible and sought after by fans of French folk art and pottery. Since country French remains such a popular decorating theme today, it is also attractive to those just becoming interested in antiques, and it fits into many homes and decorating styles.

For example fine quilts, American country and primitive wooden antiques all look great with Quimper. In fact, the hardest thing to like about this pottery is the name, which is difficult for most Americans to pronounce ther first time around. It’s pronounced “kempair.”

I first noticed the unique look in pottery at an Oglebay Institute Antiques Show a few years back, where shoppers usually can find examples of the collectible.

With a long folk history, Quimper is cheery and homey. Hand-painted and imaginative, the crockery began in 1685 when Jean Baptiste Bousquet began the first pottery. Known as HB Quimper, this Quimper is one of several major potteries that produced the ware.

Others include the 1772 firm founded by Francois Eloury, known as Porquier. A third firm, founded by Guillaume Dumaine in 1778, was known as HR or Henriot Quimper. All three firms made similar work and, according to facts from Kovels Antiques and Collectibles Price Guide, two firms (Porquier and Henriot) merged in 1913, then the third one (Bousquet) merged with the other two in 1968.

Sold to a United States family in 1984, the American holding company is called Quimper Faience and is located in Connecticut, and the French part of the firm is called Societe Nouvelle des Fainceries de Quimper HB Henriot since March 1984.

With this French-American connection, it is easy to see why there is a strong interest on both sides of the Atlantic. Decorated with scenes of everyday life, the colorful ware is artistic and includes items like wall pockets, teapots, vases, figurines, plates and bowls.

Probably the most famous design that is found painted on Quimper faience is the “petit breton,” a native representation of a Breton man and/or woman in traditional costume. Sometimes they are dancing, sometimes just posing. The “petit breton” became popular around 1870 and it is still the main design bought by tourists today in this former Celtic kingdom.

The people of Quimper are known as the Quimperois, and are of Celtic origin, according to information found on the very informative website, oldquimper .com. The “founding fathers” of Brittany, immigrants from Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled in the area in the fifth and sixth century A.D. Even today, they retain their distinctive Celtic culture.

Since I’m half Irish, that’s another reason I admire Quimper and think of it today as we approach St. Patrick’s Day.

I purchased the Quimper pitcher in today’s column at the Oglebay Antiques Show and enjoy it in my pantry atop a vintage bric-a-brac shelf.

If you’re really into collecting this colorful French pottery, you might want to join the international collector’s club, started in February 1999, when Lucy Williams and Katie Wiggins decided to get a club for collectors going.

Celebrating all Quimper both old and new, the Q Club opened its membership to all interested collectors, dealers and enthusiasts. Within the first three months, membership inquiries arrived from all over the world. Today, the club has more than 250 members in half-a-dozen countries and includes the leading authors, dealers, and collectors in the field among its members.

More can be found at www.quimperclub.org.

For comments or suggestions on local treasures to be featured in Antique of the Week, Maureen Zambito can be reached via email at: zambitomaureen@hotmail. com or by writing in care of this newspaper.