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 Chicaneau, who were said to have been making porcelain as "perfect as the Chinese" since 1693. Chicaneau's factory was a pioneer in the manufacture of porcelain in Europe, where there had been many attempts to copy Chinese porcelain. Saint-Cloud developed a frit ("a mixture of a flux, sand and chalk") which was close, although not similar, to Asian porcelain.

Blue-and-white porcelain

The porcelain produced in Saint-Cloud was influenced by late Ming blue and white porcelain and its motifs were based on Chinese originals. The typical underglaze blue painted Saint-Cloud porcelain, says W.B. Honey, "is one of the most distinct and attractive of porcelains, and not the least part of its charm lies in the quality of the material itself. It is rarely of a pure white, but the warm yellowish or ivory tone of the best wares of the period is sympathetic and by no means a shortcoming; and while actually very soft and glassy, it has a firm texture unlike any other. The glaze often shows a fine satin-like pitting of the surface that helps to distinguish it from the brilliant shiny glaze of Mennecy porcelain, which is otherwise similar. The heavy build of the pieces is also characteristic and is saved from clumsiness by a finer sense of mass, revealed in the subtly graduated thickness of wall and a delicate shaping of edges."W.B. Honey, ''European Ceramic Art'', London, Faber and Faber, 1952

Polychrome porcelain

Around 1722, Chicaneau's business passed through marriage to Henri Trou. After 1730, polychrome porcelain came to be produced, also in imitation of Chinese polychrome styles of porcelain, such as the ''" Famille rose"'' types. The Japanese ''Kakiemon'' style of Arita porcelain, Japan, known as "Fleurs indiennes" ("Flowers of the Indies") was also used as an inspiration.

File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain cup 1700 1720.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft porcelain cup, 1700–1720
File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain seau 1720 1730.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft porcelain seau, 1720–1730. "Fleurs indiennes" ("Flowers of the Indies") in imitation of the ''Kakiemon'' style of Arita porcelain, Japan.
File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain water pot circa 1725 with silver mount 1726-1732.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft porcelain water pot, circa 1725, with silver mount (1726–1732)
File:Saint Cloud soft paste porcelain flower holder Famille Rose 1730 1740.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft paste porcelain flower holder, ''" famille rose"'', 1730–1740
File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain spitting bowl Famille verte 1730 1740.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft porcelain spitting bowl, ''" famille verte"'', 1730–1740

Later designs

In its later years, Saint-Cloud also produced various designs which were less Asian in character, especially with some white soft-paste porcelain wares. After 1752, Vincennes porcelain was handed a monopoly of polychrome decors, which reduced the scope of other manufactories to some degree.''The Grove encyclopedia of decorative arts'' by Gordon Campbell, p. 223
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Production continued until 1766, when competition from the Chantilly and Vincennes porcelain manufactories put Saint-Cloud out of business.

File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain seau 18th century.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft-paste porcelain seau, 18th century
File:Saint Cloud porcelain teacup 18th century.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft-paste porcelain teacup, 18th century

See also

* Orientalism in early modern France

References

Further reading

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{{Porcelain

Ceramics manufacturers of France
Porcelain of France
Companies based in Île-de-France
17th-century French art
18th century in France