A rare French faïence bouillabaisse tureen

To my great excitement, I recently discovered an authentic Provençal bouillabaisse tureen in faïence . I knew of these faïence dishes’ existence, but had never seen, let alone owned one. These tureens are exclusively destined to the service of the region’s emblematic fish soup. One of the very few Western dishes dedicated to a specific meal only, akin to caviar servers.

It began with my love of Provençal cuisine, and of bouillabaisse in particular, that divine fare. It is routinely served as a one-pot dish, even though local tradition meticulously regulates otherwise. But I knew that one would need a particular soup tureen with tiers,often made by hand in the legendary Provence faïence factories of Moustiers, Saint-Jean-du-Désert, Aubagne and Vallauris.

A charming book

I chanced upon several examples in a charming book, ‘Les Arts de la table – de la joie de vivre en Provence’ (ed. Jeanne Laffitte, 2002). It features several such bouillabaisse sets, which have now become exceedingly rare – would I ever find one?

That’s when, on the web, I came across exactly THE tureen featured on page 131 of above book. A magnificent piece from the Sicard faïence workshop in Aubagne near Marseille, in its traditional yellow livery. The original underplate is clearly visible…

An antique, almost

…but mine has lost its original scalloped-edged platter, though it still has its fish strainer insert and only few signs of wear. The lid handle charmingly comes in the shape of a rascasse – scorpionfish. The bowl features a vielle and a cheerfully multicoloured girelle  – small-mouthed and rainbow wrasse, respectively. These fish are indispensable for the classic (e.g. Marseille) bouillabaisse recipe.

The tureen is signed ‘Sicard’ under one of the handles (scantly visible in the photo on the left) but lacks any indication of the manufacturing date. Between 1930 and 1960, I think… it no longer figures in the company’s catalogue.

I’ve put it to use several times. The traditional Marseille bouillabaise ‘protocol’ takes over as a matter of course:  as a starter, soup only with croutons and rouille, followed by the various fish laid out on the strainer, entire or filletted, with a few steamed potatoes and rouille again, or aïoli.  The tureen’s construction keeps them warm.

All this deliciousness is best paired with a white wine fom Cassis.

A recipe for bouillabaisse will follow shortly.