French Porcelain

Soft-paste porcelain was first successfully produced in France in the 1690s at the St. Cloud factory near Paris. In the 18th century, several factories, notably Sevres, produced soft-paste tableware and figures. The sturdier hard-paste porcelain was introduced in 1769 with the discovery of kaolin and, after 1803, the factory ceased production of soft paste. In the 19th century, dozens of factories sprang up in Paris and Limoges, producing hard paste that was heavily influenced by the earlier designs of Sevres and Meissen.

Tournai

Founded in the Low Countries in 1751, Tournai made soft-paste tableware and figures.

• Plates may have molded basket-weave borders or spiral patterns around the rims.
• Initially off-white with a grayish tinge, later paste is ivory with a soft, translucent glaze.
• Motifs include landscapes and flower sprays.

French Porcelain for English Palaces

This smallish soft covered edition is intended to present highlights from the famed Royal Collection. This assemblage was mainly formed by George IV between 1783-1830. The examples presented include vases (the majority of the items) as well as plates, cups and saucers as well as a few figures. The quality of the pieces are outstanding as is the standard of the color photography. Each piece is succinctly described. This volume serves as a handy introduction to the Royal Collection. It is certainly vastly less expensively priced than the 3 volume complete catalog.

Niderviller

Niderviller was making porcelain by 1768. In the late 19th century, the factory used the original molds to copy 18th-century wares.

• Useful tableware and decorative figures adopted the Neoclassical style in the 1770s.
• Best figures include Classical nudes by Lemire and sweet rustic figures by Cyffle after 1780.
• Popular painted decoration includes landscapes and decor bois – imitation wood.

French Limoges Boxes for Collectors & Gift-Buyers

French Porcelain of the 18th Century in the Victoria & Albert Museum

Known as “white gold,” porcelain was among the most treasured discoveries in 18th-century France. From the banquet table to the boudoir, porcelain was welcomed into France’s most venerated chateaus and estates, and found favor with Louis XV and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. With their encouragement, the Royal Porcelain Manufacture at Sevres drew an incredible selection of alchemists, designers, and artisans from across Europe. The porcelain produced there was unparalleled in quality, design, and decoration. In this dazzling book, Christopher Maxwell explores the V&A’s superb porcelain collection, now on exhibit in the new Ceramics Galleries.

Limoges

A factory was established in Limoges in 1771 following the discovery of kaolin (a key ingredient for hard-paste porcelain) nearby. Hundreds of factories around Limoges produced hard-paste tableware, dinner services, tea sets, and decorative objects.

• Styles often lack imagination, copying designs from Sevres and other French factories.

Paris

Paris had at least 15 factories from the 1780s until the 1840s, working in Renaissance, Rococo, Neoclassical, and Empire revival styles.

• White hard-paste porcelain has a hard glossy glaze impervious to gilding and enameling – the decoration seems to sit on the surface.
• Most porcelain was left unmarked.
• Flower motifs and Classical scenes popular.

Mennecy

Established in Paris in 1734 under the patronage of the Due de Villeroy, the soft-paste factory moved to nearby Mennecy in 1748.

• Decoration was Oriental-style or Rococo, in pink, sky blue, turquoise, yellow, and green.
• A creamy white, glassy translucent glaze covers the mellow, ivory-colored porcelain.
• DV mark, for Due de Villeroy, is usually incised.

St. Cloud

St. Cloud near Paris was the first French factory to produce porcelain commercially.

• Glassy ivory glaze with tiny black flecks covers the grayish-white soft paste.
• Early wares had molded decoration of prunus blossoms inspired by Chinese blanc de chine, or were painted in underglaze blue with
  lambrequin borders or with Japanese Kakiemon-style designs.
• Many pieces have silver or silver-gilt mounts.
• The mark is an incised “St C” over a “T”.

Orleans

The Manufacture Royale de porceleyne de Orleans was founded in 1753. Other factories operated in the area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

• Orleans produced wares in both hard- and soft-paste porcelain.
• Small Mennecy-style figures include Oriental and rustic characters and children.
• It produced mainly floral decorated wares copying Sevres.

Meissen – French porcelain Classical Greco-Roman figurines

Chantilly

An enthusiastic collector of Kakiemon, the Prince de Conde was the patron of the Chantilly factory, established near Paris around 1725.

• The soft paste has a creamy opaque glaze.
• Wares are in Kakiemon style with flower-based motifs painted in the Japanese palette of iron-red, turquoise, blue, and yellow.
• The factory mark is a small red hunting horn.

Samson Copies

Established in Paris in 1845, Samson et Cie was the most prolific imitator of early ceramics. It copied Oriental and European porcelains, which bear a striking resemblance to the originals. When copying soft paste, Samson cannily added chemicals to the recipe to make their hard paste look creamy.

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• sevres
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• Niderviller Chantilly

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