Trying to identify the mark on an old bottle

[stoney]

Hi, first time poster here. I'm trying to decipher a mark on an old stoneware bottle.

The middle line seems to say Belgique, bottom line Andenne. Top line has me lost. The bottle was found in an old church in Trinidad and I'd say it's from the early to mid 1900s maybe. Maybe a bit older but sort of doubt it.

Any ideas?

[mariok54]

The bottle is probably from the Ardenne(s), parts of the region were a part of Belgium at some point, I think. The top line will be the bottle maker, but I can't make it out. You could do a 'rubbing' of it ... or sprinkle it with talcum powder and clean it of the lettering.
A photo of the whole bottle might even help pinning some age to it.

[stoney]

Thanks mariok, unfortunately the bottle isn't currently in my possession. This is the widest view of it I have. The handles at the side should give a good idea of scale

[mariok54]

When I first looked at it this morning for some inexplicable reason I thought that I was looking at very dirty glass, still bleary-eyed ... but it's a stonewear flagon, and the 20 probably refers to litres? The bad news is that you will need to get a better image of that top line, which is most probably the manufacturer/brewery .... It looks as if it may start with Eug.  for Eugene? Then Los..But I just can't tell on my laptop. Not sure where you are from, but over here in the UK there were hundred, possibly thousands of tiny breweries who had their own flagons marked, and I imagine with their interest in the stuff there were again probably hunndreds or thousands.. The one in the picture is interesting as the name isn't just stencilled on, and its not been glazed,
Other than Ardennes and it coming from Belgium...?
Hopefully someone else may be able to help.

[stoney]

I managed to track it down through various sources - http://www.bibliotheca-andana.be/?p=133442

The coordinator of that website confirmed the bottle was made by Eugene Losson, and also described him as "part of the 260 martyrs [of] Andennes [massacred] by the Germans in 1914." The bottle, he says, would predate 1914.

[mariok54]

Well done, and nice to see a mystery solved.  I tried numerous combinations of Eugene Los....  glad you had more luck.

[mart]

Glad you found it !!  I could not read anything much on this old computer beyond Eug and Loss !!  Sure is a neat old bottle !!