French Majolica Squirrel Pitcher Onnaing, circa 1880

Onnaing earthenware is a ceramic production that developed between 1821 and 1938 in the town of Onnaing, in the Nord department in France. Founded on February 2, 1821, by Ferdinand Louis de Bousies and his brother Charles de Bousies (Viscount of Rouveroy). The Onnaing earthenware factory was initially a new establishment of the Belgian factory in Nimy, intended to circumvent customs duties. From the end of the 19th Century, the Onnaing factory grew to directly employ 500 workers. It benefits from the extension of the rail network, which allows it to both source raw materials and exports its production. The destruction due to World War I strongly affects the factory: ovens, molds, buildings are destroyed. The restart of production in 1921 does not allow it to return to the levels of the beginning of the Century. Demand also evolved and manufacturing ceased in 1938. The factory was definitively liquidated in 1947.