French Porcelain
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French porcelain has a history spanning a period from the 17th century to the present. The French were heavily involved in the early European efforts to discover the secrets of making the
hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes called "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at a very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made ...
known from
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
and
Japanese export porcelain Japanese export porcelain includes a wide range of porcelain that was made and decorated in Japan primarily for export to Europe and later to North America, with significant quantities going to south and southeastern Asian markets. Production for ...
. They succeeded in developing
soft-paste porcelain Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial porcelain") is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its hig ...
, but
Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first Europe, European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's ...
was the first to make true hard-paste, around 1710, and the French took over 50 years to catch up with Meissen and the other German factories. But by the 1760s,
kaolin Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (). ...
had been discovered near
Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
, and the relocated royal-owned Sèvres factory took the lead in European porcelain design as
rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
turned into what is broadly known as the
Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1792), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...
and then the
Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...
. French styles were soon being imitated in porcelain in Germany, England, and as far afield as Russia. They were also imitated in the cheaper French
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
, and this and other materials elsewhere. This dominance lasted until at least 1830. Before the French Revolution in 1789, French production was complicated by various royal
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s and
monopolies A monopoly (from Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce a particular thing, a lack of viable sub ...
restricting the production of various types of wares, which could sometimes be circumvented by obtaining the "protection" of a member of the royal family or senior courtier; this might or might not involve ownership by them. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, France had a vigorous
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
industry, making high-quality
tin-glazed Tin-glazing is the process of giving tin-glazed pottery items a ceramic glaze that is white, glossy and opaque, which is normally applied to red or buff earthenware. Tin-glaze is plain Lead-glazed earthenware, lead glaze with a small amount of Tin( ...
earthenware that remained in touch with artistic fashion. At least before 1800, this catered to the lower end of the market very successfully, so that porcelain factories concentrated on the top end, in France and elsewhere. Compared to other European countries, French manufacturers have generally concentrated on tablewares and decorative vessels rather than figures, with Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain being something of an exception. Where figures and groups were produced, these were most often in the French invention of unglazed
biscuit porcelain Biscuit porcelain, bisque porcelain or bisque is unglazed, white porcelain treated as a final product, with a matte appearance and texture to the touch. It has been widely used in European pottery, mainly for sculptural and decorative objects th ...
.


Soft-paste blue-and-white porcelain

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...
had long been imported from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, and was a very expensive and desired luxury. Chinese porcelains were treasured, collected from the time of Francis I, and sometimes adorned with elaborate mountings of precious metal to protect them and enhance their beauty. Huge amounts especially of
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
were sent from Europe to China to pay for the desired Chinese porcelain wares, and numerous attempts were made to duplicate the material.''Chinese glazes: their origins, chemistry, and recreation'' Nigel Wood p. 240
/ref> It was in
Nevers faience The city of Nevers, Nièvre, now in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France, was a centre for manufacturing faience, or Tin-glazed pottery, tin-glazed earthenware pottery, between around 1580 and the early 19th c ...
that Chinese-style blue and white wares were produced for the first time in France, with production running between 1650 and 1680.''The Grove Encyclopedia of Materials and Techniques in Art'' Gerald W. R. Ward p. 38
/ref> Chinese styles would then be taken up by factories in
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
, especially following the foundation of the
French East India Company Compagnie des Indes () may refer to several French chartered companies involved in long-distance trading: * First French East Indies Company, in existence from 1604 to 1614 * French West India Company, active in the Western Hemisphere from 1664 t ...
in 1664. The first soft-paste porcelain in France was developed in an effort to imitate high-valued Chinese
hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes called "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at a very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made ...
, and follow the attempts of
Medici porcelain Medici porcelain was the first successful attempt in Europe to make imitations of Chinese porcelain, though it was soft-paste porcelain rather than the hard-paste made in Asia. The experimental manufactory housed in the Casino of San Marco in Flo ...
in the 16th century. The first soft-paste
frit A frit is a ceramic composition that has been fused, quenched, and granulated. Frits form an important part of the batches used in compounding enamels and ceramic glazes; the purpose of this pre-fusion is to render any soluble and/or toxic com ...
porcelain, was produced at the
Rouen manufactory The city of Rouen, Normandy has been a centre for the production of faience or tin-glazed earthenware pottery, since at least the 1540s. Unlike Nevers faience, where the earliest potters were immigrants from Italy, who at first continued to make w ...
in 1673, in order to mimic ''"la véritable porcelaine de Chine"'' ("The true porcelain of China"),''Artificial Soft Paste Porcelain – France, Italy, Spain and England'' Edwin Atlee Barber pp. 5–6
/ref> and became known as "Porcelaine française". The technique of producing the new material was discovered by the Rouen
potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...
Louis Poterat; his licence to make "faience and porcelain" was taken out in 1673, signed by the king and
Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
The soft porcelain used blue designs of the type already used in the faiences of the period. Dr.
Martin Lister Martin Lister (12 April 1639 – 2 February 1712) was an English natural history, naturalist and physician. His daughters Anne Lister (illustrator), Anne and Susanna Lister, Susanna were two of his illustrators and engravers. J. D. Woodley, 'L ...
reported from his voyage to Paris, printed in 1698, that a manufacture of porcelain "as white and translucid as the one that came from the East" was in full operation at
Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...
. The French lexicographer
Jacques Savary des Brûlons Jacques Savary des Brûlons (1657–1716) was the French Inspector General of the Manufactures for the King at the Paris Customs in the 18th century, and a lexicographer who wrote the ''Dictionnaire universel de commerce''. Jacques Savary des Br ...
wrote in 1722 about these first experiments in his ''Dictionnaire universel du commerce'':
Fifteen or twenty years ago an attempt was made in France to copy Chinese porcelain: the first attempts made in Rouen were quite successful, ... these ''faience'' objects from new factories are not ranked as French ''faience'' – this is the genuine porcelain invented by the French during the last few years and manufactured successively in Rouen, Passy near Paris, and then in Saint Cloud.
Colbert set up the Royal Factory of Saint-Cloud in 1664 in order to make copies (In the original ''"Contre-façons"'', i.e. "Fakes") of "Indian-style" porcelain. Saint-Cloud became a very important manufactory for the new wares. However, once French manufacturers discovered how to produce a much wider range of colours in porcelain by the 1730s, using
overglaze Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling, or on-glaze decoration, is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firi ...
"enamel" decoration, they abandoned
underglaze Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely ...
blue more quickly and thoroughly than those of other European countries - some English factories continued to make a significant proportion of blue and white wares until the end of the century and beyond. File:Faience with Chinese scenes Nevers Manufactory 1680 1700.jpg,
Faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
(not porcelain) with Chinese scenes, Nevers manufactory, 1680–1700. File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain vase with blue designs under glaze 1695-1700.jpg, Saint-Cloud manufactory
soft-paste porcelain Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial porcelain") is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its hig ...
vase, with blue designs under glaze, 1695–1700 File:Saint Cloud bowl soft porcelain with blue decorations under glaze 1700 1710.jpg, Saint-Cloud manufactory, 1700–1710


Asian polychrome designs

Louis XIV had received 1,500 pieces of porcelain from the Siamese Embassy to France in 1686, but the manufacturing secret had remained elusive. France finally discovered the Chinese technique of
hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes called "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at a very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made ...
through the efforts of the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
Father
François Xavier d'Entrecolles François Xavier d'Entrecolles (1664 in Lyon – 1741 in Beijing; Chinese name: 殷弘绪, Yin Hongxu) was a French Jesuit priest, who learned the Chinese technique of manufacturing porcelain through his investigations in China at Jingdezhen with ...
between 1712 and 1722.Baghdiantz McCabe, Ina (2008) ''Orientalism in Early Modern France'', , Berg Publishing, Oxford, p. 220ff The letters sent to Father Orry in Paris were first published by
Jean-Baptiste Du Halde Jean-Baptiste Du Halde (, Pinyin: ''Dù Hèdé''; 1 February 1674 – 18 August 1743) was a French Jesuit historian specializing in China. He did not travel to China, but collected seventeen Jesuit missionaries' reports and provided an encyclop ...
in 1735, with English editions appearing in 1736 or 1738.''Ceramic technology'' by Rose Kerr, Nigel Wood, Joseph Needham p.37
/ref> The letters were later again published by Abbé Jean-Baptiste Grosier in his ''General Description of China''.''A history of pottery and porcelain: mediæval and modern'' by Joseph Marryat p. 190
/ref> D'Entrecolles also sent material specimens to Europe, which were analysed by Réaumur, and led to the establishment of the Sèvres Manufactory once equivalent materials were found in Europe. After 1730, polychrome porcelain also came to be produced, often in imitation of Chinese polychrome styles of porcelain, such as the "
Famille rose Famille rose (French for "pink family") is a style of decoration in Chinese porcelain introduced in the 18th century and defined by pink overglaze enamel as the dominant colour. It is a Western classification for Qing dynasty porcelain known ...
" types. The Japanese ''
Kakiemon is a style of Japanese porcelain, with overglaze decoration called "enameled" ceramics. It was originally produced at the kilns around Arita, in Japan's Hizen province (today, Saga Prefecture) from the Edo period's mid-17th century onwards. ...
'' style of Arita porcelain,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, known as "Fleurs indiennes" ("Flowers of the Indies") was also used as an inspiration, especially in
Saint-Cloud porcelain Saint-Cloud porcelain was a type of soft-paste porcelain produced in the French town of Saint-Cloud from the late 17th to the mid 18th century. Foundation In 1702, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans gave letters-patent to the family of Pierre Chicane ...
and
Chantilly porcelain Chantilly porcelain is French soft-paste porcelain produced between 1730 and 1800 by the manufactory of Chantilly, Oise, Chantilly in Oise, France. The wares are usually divided into three periods, 1730–1751, 1751–1760, and a gradual declin ...
. A patent granted to the Chantilly factory in 1735 by
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
specifically describes the right to make porcelain ''façon de Japon'' ("in imitation of the porcelain of Japan"). Meanwhile, the manufacturing technique of soft-paste porcelain seems to have been transmitted to England by French
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
refugees. The first soft-paste in England was demonstrated by Thomas Briand to the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1742 and is believed to have been based on the Saint-Cloud formula. File:Chantilly porcelain sugar bowl Kakiemon style 1725 1751.jpg,
Chantilly porcelain Chantilly porcelain is French soft-paste porcelain produced between 1730 and 1800 by the manufactory of Chantilly, Oise, Chantilly in Oise, France. The wares are usually divided into three periods, 1730–1751, 1751–1760, and a gradual declin ...
sugar bowl, Japanese ''
Kakiemon is a style of Japanese porcelain, with overglaze decoration called "enameled" ceramics. It was originally produced at the kilns around Arita, in Japan's Hizen province (today, Saga Prefecture) from the Edo period's mid-17th century onwards. ...
'' style, made under Ciquaire Cirou, 1725–1751 File:Pair of Square Flasks, c. 1730-1740, Chantilly, from the Prince de Conde's collection 1740, soft-paste porcelain with overglaze enamels - Gardiner Museum, Toronto - DSC00534.JPG, Pair of square flasks, c. 1730–1740, Chantilly File:Chantilly sof porcelain teapot 1735 1740.jpg, Chantilly soft-paste porcelain teapot with Chinese design, 1735–1740 File:Vincennes soft porcelain plate 1749 1753.jpg, Vincennes plate, 1749–53; a Chinese subject treated in a Western style


Development of original French designs

After this initial period, up to the end of the 18th century, French porcelain manufactories would progressively abandon their Chinese and Japanese designs, to become more French in character. Vincennes soft-paste porcelain started to display original French inspiration towards its last years of operation, after which the abundant, varied, and original productions of
Sèvres porcelain Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...
continued the trend.
Biscuit porcelain Biscuit porcelain, bisque porcelain or bisque is unglazed, white porcelain treated as a final product, with a matte appearance and texture to the touch. It has been widely used in European pottery, mainly for sculptural and decorative objects th ...
was first used at Vincennes in 1751 by the director
Jean-Jacques Bachelier Jean-Jacques Bachelier (1724–1806) was a French painter and director of the porcelain factory at Sèvres. Admitted to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1752, he founded an art school using his own means in Paris in 1765 for ...
; this simply involved not glazing or painting the piece after a single firing, leaving a matt surface resembling marble. But the pieces had to be perfect, as there was no glaze to cover up faults, so in practice the wastage made them more expensive to produce. Brilliant new colours were developed at Vincennes and Sèvres in the 1750s and 1760s, especially a blue and a rose.Battie, 108–109 These were often shown off as the ground colour of the body, with painted decoration within compartments left with a white ground. In 1756 the Vincennes factory was moved to
Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...
, where it still remains in production, and in 1759 it was bought by the king, although his mistress
Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...
was allowed effective free rein to oversee it. A period of superb quality in both design and production followed, creating much of the enduring reputation of French porcelain. The light-hearted Rococo was given a more serious air, often by restricting it to the painting, rather than the porcelain shape. Porcelain production further developed with
Limoges porcelain Limoges porcelain is hard-paste porcelain produced by factories in and around the city of Limoges, France, beginning in the late 18th century, by any manufacturer. By about 1830, Limoges, which was close to the areas where suitable clay was found, ...
, a type of
hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes called "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at a very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made ...
produced by factories near the city of
Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...
, France. The manufacturing of hard-paste porcelain in Limoges was established in 1771 following the discovery of local supplies of
kaolin Kaolinite ( ; also called kaolin) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina (). ...
and a material similar to
petuntse Petuntse (from zh, c=白墩子, p=báidūnzì), also spelled petunse and ''bai dunzi'', ''baidunzi'', is a historic term for a wide range of micaceous or feldspathic rocks. However, all will have been subject to geological alteration of igneous ...
in the economically distressed area at
Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (; , ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is significant as the first place where kaolin was found in France, a discovery of great importance to French porcelain manufact ...
, near Limoges. In parallel, soft-paste porcelain continued to be manufactured however, as it was less expensive to produce. Nast porcelain (1783–1835) and Dihl and Guérhard (1781–1828) were two of a number of factories making very high-quality porcelain in Paris in the decades around 1800. This contrasted with London, where the factories had all closed or removed north by 1775, although the capital remained, like Paris, a centre for decorating plain "blanks" made elsewhere – in France often in
Limoges porcelain Limoges porcelain is hard-paste porcelain produced by factories in and around the city of Limoges, France, beginning in the late 18th century, by any manufacturer. By about 1830, Limoges, which was close to the areas where suitable clay was found, ...
. Dagoty and Honoré and Darte were other Paris factories. By 1830 most factories had closed or moved to Limoges.Battie, 156–157 File:Vincennes, vassoio, 1750-56.JPG, Vincennes dish, 1750–56 File:Vincennes soft porcelain cup 1750 1752.jpg, Vincennes soft-porcelain cup, 1750–1752 File:Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Potpourri Vase (Vase potpourri à vaisseau) - Walters 48559.jpg,
Sèvres pot-pourri vase in the shape of a ship ''Pot pourri à vaisseau'' or ''pot pourri en navire'' ("pot-pourri holder as a vessel/ship") is the shape used for a number of pot-pourri vases in the form of masted ships, first produced between the late 1750s to the early 1760s by the Sèv ...
, 1763, porcelain File:Sèvres Sucrier - pot à sucre Bouret shape - circa 1770.JPG, Sèvres Manufactory sucrier and cover – ''pot à sucre'' Bouret shape – circa 1770 File:The Grape Eaters, after Francois Boucher, Vincennes-Sevres Porcelain Factory, 1752, soft paste biscuit porcelain - Krannert Art Museum, UIUC - DSC06260.jpg, ''The Grape Eaters'', after
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
, Vincennes, 1752, a very early
biscuit porcelain Biscuit porcelain, bisque porcelain or bisque is unglazed, white porcelain treated as a final product, with a matte appearance and texture to the touch. It has been widely used in European pottery, mainly for sculptural and decorative objects th ...
group File:Drop-front desk (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en cabinet) MET DP105712.jpg, Drop-front desk (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en cabinet) with six Sèvres plaques, c. 1776


Empire style

Even before the French revolution, the initially severe style of Neoclassicism had begun to turn grandiose and ornate in goods for the courts of the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
. This trend deepened with the rise of Napoleon, which followed a difficult period for French porcelain factories. The
Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...
was marked by lavish
gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...
, strong colours, and references to military conquests; Napoleon's ultimately unsuccessful expedition to
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
sparked a fashion for "Neo-Egyptian" wares. In 1800 Napoleon, as Minister of the Interior, appointed
Alexandre Brongniart Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil conten ...
director at Sèvres; he was to stay 47 years, making many changes. The factory concentrated on tableware and larger decorative pieces such as vases and table centrepieces, much of it for the government to use or give as diplomatic presents.Battie, 155 File:Dagoty, tazzina, 1810 ca, 03.JPG, Cup and saucer, Dagoty, Paris, c. 1810 File:Cup (tasse Jasmin), part of Breakfast Service (déjeuner) MET LC-56 29 5-002.jpg, Sèvres cup with silver handle from a breakfast service File:Pair of green vases, painted by Jean Georget, mounts by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, 2 of 2, Sèvres porcelain, 1809, soft-paste porcelain - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT - DSC05497.jpg, One of a pair of Sèvres vases, 1809 File:Teapot, Sèvres Porcelain Factory, 1817, hard-paste porcelain - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT - DSC05506.jpg, Teapot, Sèvres 1817


19th century

The Empire style grew more elaborate and ostentatious as the century continued, developing most aspects of "Victorian" taste in a French style. Under the Second Empire from 1852 to 1870; there was a revival of Louis XVI style at Sèvres, often more heavily painted and gilded. Many of the old moulds which the factory had kept were used again.Battie, 156 Apart from Sèvres, most factories had moved to Limoges by about 1830, with many companies making
Limoges porcelain Limoges porcelain is hard-paste porcelain produced by factories in and around the city of Limoges, France, beginning in the late 18th century, by any manufacturer. By about 1830, Limoges, which was close to the areas where suitable clay was found, ...
, of which Haviland & Co. was the most successful. This was founded in the 1840s by porcelain importers in America, and a strong market in America supported them through rough patches. They also led a reconnection of ceramics with contemporary trends in the fine arts, especially
Japonisme ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the Bakumatsu, forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1 ...
, using artists such as
Ernest Chaplet Ernest Chaplet (1835 in Sèvres – 1909 in Choisy-le-Roi) was a French designer, sculptor and ceramist. He was a key figure in the French art pottery movement, and his works are held in international public collections such as the Musée d'Orsay ...
(though much of his work was in
stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...
rather than porcelain) and
Félix Bracquemond Félix Henri Bracquemond (; 22 May 1833 – 29 October 1914) was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use ...
. Around Paris the factory of Jacob Petit at
Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
opened in 1834, and the questionable career of
Edmé Samson Edmé Samson (b Paris, 1810; d Paris, 1891), founder of the porcelain firm Samson, Edmé et Cie (commonly known as Samson Ceramics), was a famous copyist (and perhaps art forgery, forger) of porcelain and pottery. The firm produced high-quality c ...
began in the same decade. The French movement of
art pottery Art pottery is a term for pottery with artistic aspirations, made in relatively small quantities, mostly between about 1870 and 1930. Typically, sets of the usual tableware items are excluded from the term; instead the objects produced are mostly ...
in the late 19th century developed almost entirely within
stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...
and
faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...
, led by figures including
Ernest Chaplet Ernest Chaplet (1835 in Sèvres – 1909 in Choisy-le-Roi) was a French designer, sculptor and ceramist. He was a key figure in the French art pottery movement, and his works are held in international public collections such as the Musée d'Orsay ...
and Theodore Deck. This, to some extent following English
Arts and Crafts Movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...
principles in integrating the design and craft production, and promoting new styles of design, eventually including
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
. But some figures later worked in porcelain, either with the large factories, or independently, as for example in the case of Auguste Delaherche. Sèvres turned to a more diluted version of Japonisme after 1870, and in 1897, a new artistic director, A. Sandier, introduced new
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
styles, followed about a decade later by styles leading to
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
. The display of Sèvres porcelain in the English Country House is another by-product of the 19th century and flourishes especially within what is known as 'Rothschildshire' (the county of
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
). The family's history of collecting and its development of the distinctive ‘ goût Rothschild’ (Rothschild style) results in some of the most iconic Sèvres being located at
Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...
, Baron de Rothschild's weekend 'pleasure house'. As Mark Girouard writes, "opulence was the key-note of this" and thus "eighteenth-century French furniture, porcelain and bronzes of superb quality combined" dominated this specific 19th-century collection. Ferdinand's first purchase of Sèvres is a poignant narrative at Waddesdon manor, in which at 21 years old, he treated himself to the famous turquoise Sèvres 'boat shaped' potpourri vase "which he bought in instalments and is still at Waddesdon". File:Standing cup (coupe Chenavard) MET DP104402.jpg, Sèvres cup, 1837, imitating Renaissance metalwork and
Limoges enamel Limoges enamel has been produced at Limoges, in south-western France, over several centuries up to the present. There are two periods when it was of European importance. From the 12th century to 1370 there was a large industry producing metal o ...
File:Plate MET ES4275.jpg, Plate designed by
Félix Bracquemond Félix Henri Bracquemond (; 22 May 1833 – 29 October 1914) was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use ...
for Haviland & Co., 1870s File:Monumental vase MET DP704028 (cropped).jpg, Vase by
Ernest Chaplet Ernest Chaplet (1835 in Sèvres – 1909 in Choisy-le-Roi) was a French designer, sculptor and ceramist. He was a key figure in the French art pottery movement, and his works are held in international public collections such as the Musée d'Orsay ...
, c. 1890 File:Flambeaux porcelaine de Sèvres.jpg, Sèvres figure in biscuit, for the Paris
Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...
File:Sevres World Fair Vase.jpg, Sèvres swan vase, for the Paris
Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...


See also

*
Orientalism in early modern France In early modern France, Orientalism refers to the interaction of pre-modern France with the Orient, and especially the cultural, scientific, artistic and intellectual impact of these interactions, ranging from the academic field of Oriental studie ...


Notes


References

* Battie, David, ed., ''Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain'', 1990, Conran Octopus. *McAbe, Baghdiantz Ina, ''Orientalism in Early Modern France'', 2008, Berg Publishing, Oxford, {{Porcelain Cultural history of France Porcelain French art *