Villeroy & Boch "My Garden" Crystal Serving Bowl. Marked on base. 

Size: 7 3/8 x 7 3/8 x 3 1/2 in. 

#4402 . 

Villeroy & Boch is a German manufacturer of ceramics, with the company headquarters located in Mettlach, Saarland. The company began in the tiny Lorraine village of Audun le Tiche, where the iron master François Boch set up a pottery company with his three sons in 1748. In 1766 Boch was licensed to build a ceramics kiln nearby at Septfontaines, Luxembourg, where it operated a porcelain factory. In 1785 Nicolas Villeroy became sole owner of a faience manufactory at Wallerfangen, making them their closest and fiercest competitor. In 1812 Boch’s son Jean-François began construction of new kilns at the nearby town of Mettlach, and within a few years the expansion paid off, nearly driving Villeroy out of business. From 1824 onward Boch began transfer printing on porcelain from engraved copper plates, but an economic upset in the region ruined their fortunes. In 1836, to avoid the closure of both facilities, the Jean François Boch Company merged with their greatest rival, Nicolas Villeroy, and became Villeroy & Boch (frequently written simply as V&B or “VB”). In 1869 Villeroy & Boch opened the first factory in the region specializing in architectural tiles, and many of the buildings they provided for still showcase their work to this day. Among its innovations in Mettlach at the end of the 19th Century was Phanolith, a kind of semi-transparent porcelain that combines the characteristics and benefits of jasperware and pâte-sur-pâte. The creator of the Phanolith was the ceramics artist Jean-Baptiste Stahl, who headed the modelling section of Villeroy & Boch. Phanolith gained first wide public attention at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, catching the eye of many dignitaries and heads of state. Over the next hundred years the company weathered numerous political, social, and economic upheavals, eventually separating into two divisions: Dining & Lifestyle (formerly Tableware), and Bathroom & Wellness. The Tiles division became a separate company (V&B Fliesen GmbH) in 2006, and a majority stake was sold the following year to the Eczacıbaşı Holding Group. Villeroy & Boch has continued to base its broadest market in Germany, diversifying into glassware and other markets since the dawn of the 21st Century. The company’s Luxembourg factory was closed down in 2010, and in September 2023 it was announced Villeroy & Boch had acquired the Brussels-headquartered plumbing fixture company, Ideal Standard Group, expanding their market once again. Today, Villeroy & Boch is overseen by Group Chairman Frank Göring and is no longer run by any family descendants, although members of both the Boch and Villeroy families continue to be employed by the company.