Old round shaving dish in Martre Tolsane earthenware. Late 19th century signed GG, green cross in good condition dimensions: diameter: 25cm height: 7.5cm At the foot of the Pyrenees, in the Comminges, the village of Martres-Tolosane has perpetuated the tradition of earthenware for more than three centuries. Originally, the first earthenware makers settled in the village at the beginning of the 18th century. They had found significant deposits of clay, their raw material, there. These craftsmen came from Luneville, Moulins and Nevers. The oldest known piece is a shaving dish treated in blue monochrome, bearing the inscription "Joseph. Delondre 1739" on its reverse. Decorated tin-bearing earthenware came back into fashion after the Second World War. The revival of demand boosted the Martrais earthenware makers who were quick to return to growth and success. Two factories, La Tolosane and Le Matet, were predominant in the 1960s. They each employed around thirty people, most of them from Martres. The 1950s and 1960s saw the arrival of Spanish neighbours, looking for better living conditions than those offered at the time by Franco's Spain. Among them were turners and painters who, after having worked for the large factories, set up their own workshops: this was the case for the Jodra and Duran earthenware factories. Later, the slowdown in activity forced the same factories to reduce their staff, which led to the appearance of smaller, lighter units, such as La Renaissance Artisanale or, more recently, La Rose de Martres.