{"product_id":"belle-epoque-french-porcelain-match-striker-absinthe-la-parisienne","title":"Belle Époque French porcelain match striker - Absinthe La Parisienne","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA superb French porcelain advertising match striker from the early 20th century. It presents a low domed circular base and waisted socle beneath a truncated conical striker molded with fine horizontal ribs. The base is glazed in soft white and ringed with brick-red transfer lettering for \u003cem\u003eAbsinthe La Parisienne\u003c\/em\u003e with the slogan \u003cem\u003ela meilleure des absinthes\u003c\/em\u003e, while the cone is left biscuit for striking and washed in a straw-yellow slip, finished with delicate gilt lines to rim and foot.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eMatch strikers of this type were familiar fixtures on bar and café counters from the late 19th century into the 1920s, storing matches in the central well and offering a practical rough surface for ignition. French distilleries and breweries commonly commissioned them as point-of-sale advertising, pairing hard-glazed porcelain bases with transfer lettering and unglazed biscuit strikers, a straightforward expression of café service and commercial savoir-faire.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAbsinthe La Parisienne was a Belle Époque marque positioned for the capital’s café society and promoted with the boast la meilleure des absinthes on counterware and ephemera; like many labels, it vanished after France prohibited absinthe in 1915, leaving such ceramics as tangible records of fin-de-siècle drinking culture. Equally at home on a bar cart or a kitchen shelf, this compact piece brings an authentic bistro note, its straw-yellow and ivory tones harmonizing with glass and metal.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eUse it functionally with strike-anywhere matches to light candles or a hearth, or style it with Belle Époque carafes, bistro tumblers, and other café wares for a cohesive vignette. On a desk or library table it reads as a small sculptural accent that quietly evokes Parisian nightlife of the period. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.chezpluie.com\/collections\/tobacco-accessories\" title=\"Antique French Tobacco Accessories\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSeveral similar\u003c\/a\u003e match strikers are available for individual purchase if you wish to build a collection. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition and wear consistent with age and use.\u003cbr\u003eApprox. overall 3¼\" high x 3½\" wide x 3½\" deep \u003cbr\u003eApprox. overall 8cm high x 9cm wide x 9cm deep\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chez Pluie","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53961378464082,"sku":"24955","price":644.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1166\/6698\/files\/DSC09009_83e1a2e2-3298-4db2-9d14-5f02f806f7e5.jpg?v=1783596816","url":"https:\/\/www.chezpluie.com\/products\/belle-epoque-french-porcelain-match-striker-absinthe-la-parisienne","provider":"Chez Pluie","version":"1.0","type":"link"}