[Illustration: Fig. 234.--Rouen Cup. Lambrequin Decoration.] Rouen may be taken as representing independent Norman art. Marreot Abaquesne was engaged there in enamelling from 1535, and two tile pictures from the château of Ecouen, dated 1542, are still in existence, representing, in blue, green, yellow, and white, Mutius Scævola and Marcus Curtius. Abaquesne worked until 1557, and after that date the manufacture of tiles was continued by others. In 1646 Nicolas Poirel, Sieur de Grandval, obtained a privilege or patent for making faience, and immediately transferred it to Edme Poterat, already established in the business in Saint-Sever. To this potter is, in all probability, due the most distinctive styles of decoration practised at Rouen, those resembling lambrequins and lace (Fig. 234.) These are modifications of the Oriental type. In 1673 another patent was granted to Louis Poterat, a son of the former, for the making of “porcelain similar to that of China, and of violet faience painted with white and blue and other colors, in the manner of that of Holland.” After the expiry, about 1700, of Poirel’s patent, manufactories multiplied rapidly, and reached an aggregate of eighteen, from which some estimate may be formed of the number of artists and potters engaged at Rouen. [Illustration: Fig. 235.--Rouen Faience. Decoration, à la corne. (Trumbull-Prime Coll., N. Y. Metropolitan Museum.)] As to the successive styles, there is no doubt that designers drew largely from the works of the gold and silver smith. Flowers in wreaths and bouquets surround landscapes painted on white. Then came the senior Poterat’s adaptation of Oriental designs in the lace and cognate styles already mentioned, at first in blue camaïeu, and afterward mingled with red. Equally well known is the brilliant decoration _à la corne_ (Fig. 235), in which many-hued flowers issue from a cornucopia, and dazzling insects fill in the interstices between the flowers. All these styles have been imitated both throughout France and in other countries. No faience of the eighteenth century was more rich and artistic than that of Rouen. Many of the pieces are of large size and highly ornate in character.