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The Vincennes porcelain manufactory was established in 1740 in the disused royal Château de Vincennes, in Vincennes, east of Paris, which was from the start the main market for its wares.
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The Vincennes porcelain manufactory was established in 1740 in the disused royal Château de Vincennes, in Vincennes, east of Paris, which was from the start the main market for its wares.
The entrepreneur in charge at first, Claude-Humbert Gérin, established workshops and employed craftsmen from the Chantilly manufactory, whose patron, the duc de Bourbon, had recently died. Notable defectors from Chantilly were the debt-ridden brothers Gilles and Robert Dubois, one a sculptor, the other a painter. [1] When early trial pieces were shown to the marquis du Châtelet, he arranged with Orry de Fulvy, brother of a superintendent of royal buildings, that a factory be set up in the premises of the disused royal château to manufacture a brilliantly white soft-paste porcelain. [2]
The Chinese manufacturing secrets for porcelain manufacturing were revealed by the Jesuit Father Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles in 1712, and openly published in 1735. One ingredient for porcelain was kaolin; the porcelain manufactory of Meißen, near Dresden, was taking advantage of the first kaolin deposits identified in Europe, but hard-paste porcelain in France had to wait for the first French kaolin, discovered near Limoges later in the eighteenth century.
Early experiments produced so many imperfect pieces spoiled in the kiln, that debts mounted, in spite of aristocratic encouragement, and the partners, on the verge of bankruptcy, slipped away, leaving the kilns, workmen and the still-born production in the hands of a subordinate, Louis-François Gravant (died 1765). [3] The continued patronage by Orry de Fulvy achieved the first successes on the Paris market about 1745, and further essential capitalization was raised through a consortium of twenty-one progressive-minded tax farmers. [4] The first direct royal support came in the form of a privilege for manufacturing porcelain after the manner of Saxony (Meissen porcelain), signed by Louis XV, 24 July 1745, in favour of Charles Adam, one of the silent partners. The silversmith Jean-Claude Duplessis was brought in during 1745; he designed vases for Vincennes embodying the robust yet balanced French Rococo.
Aside from tea wares and dinner services, and decorative vases, often in imitation of Meißen porcelain—"in the style of Saxony, painted and gilded and depicting human figures" the warrant granted by Louis XV ran—the Vincennes manufactory specialized in making naturalistic flowers, which were incorporated into bouquets or in flower sprays added to cut-glass-hung gilt-bronze chandeliers under the direction of Parisian marchands-merciers , who alone were permitted to combine the production of so many separate craft guilds. Gifted sculptors were contracted to provide models for table sculptures, and a white, unglazed, matte biscuit porcelain ware imitating white marble was introduced in 1751.[ citation needed ]
New glaze colors were developed at Vincennes, bleu céleste, a rich sky blue, bleu turquoise, the "Turkish" blue that fixed that color name in European languages, and the dark bleu lapis which might be overlaid with traces of gilded veining that disguised variations in the glaze. Enamel painting was applied over the fired glazes, to be refired at lower temperature, and at Vincennes the refinement of its techniques began to approach that of miniatures. The Vincennes workshops perfected the art of gilding applied over the already-fired glazes then re-fired at a still lower temperature, to offer luxury wares of a sophistication never before seen in France.[ citation needed ]
In April 1748, the presentation to the Queen Marie Leczinska of a vase of porcelain flowers, fully three feet tall, offered a dramatic public demonstration at Court of the manufactory's capabilities, and incidentally reveals the intervention of the Parisian marchand-mercier , who alone could commission the gilt bronze mount in which the vase had been set. The duc de Luynes described the gift:
"M. de Fulvy, who continues to be the director of the porcelain manufactory at Vincennes, had a porcelain vase brought to the Queen, which he presented to her on behalf of the company. Three small white figures, together with a porcelain vase, were mounted on a gilt-bronze pedestal. The vase contains a bouquet of flowers also made in porcelain. M. de Fulvy told me there were 480 flowers in the bouquet. The vase with its pedestal and the flowers stood about three feet high. The bronze mounting alone cost 100 louis, and the porcelain just as much; it is a perfect work of its kind—as much for the whiteness as for the execution of the small figures and the flowers. This manufactory is now superior to that of Saxony for the making of flowers"
The young Dauphine ordered a similar vase to be sent to her father, Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony, the patron of the "Saxon porcelain" made at Meissen. [5]
The unexpected deaths in 1750 and 1751 of both brothers Fulvy created a financial impasse [6] that was resolved when the King stepped in and made of Vincennes the object of royal patronage, though less than a manufacture royale; it continued under the personal patronage of Madame de Pompadour. The covered vases of the model pot-pourri Pompadour were designed by Duplessis [7] and made from 1752. [8] The painter Jean-Jacques Bachelier directed the enamelling workshop from 1751, and the chemist Jean Hellot, author of several works on metallurgy and an Académicien, was put in charge of chemical operations, conducting systematic investigations of clays, glazes and enamel colours. [9]
After 1752, through a Royal Edict, Vincennes was handed a monopoly of polychrome decors, which reduced the scope of other manufactories to some degree. [10]
In 1756 the Vincennes porcelain factory shifted to new premises at Sèvres, west of Paris, until 1759, when, with the enterprise threatening to go bankrupt, the king bought it outright, initiating the career of world-famous Sèvres porcelain, which was a direct outgrowth of Vincennes. In 1757 Étienne Maurice Falconet was appointed director of the sculpture atelier, when Vincennes officially became a manufacture royale de porcelaine. The procedure of introducing datemarks, and painters' and gilders' marks, which has made a detailed understanding of individual styles of Sèvres possible, was initiated at Vincennes, in 1753.
Porcelain flowers continued to provide the bulk of Vincennes sales: [11] Mme de Pompadour, whose château de Bellevue was not far from the new site, made lavish purchases of them to decorate her rooms and d'Argenson's anecdote of her receiving Louis XV there in a conservatory furnished in winter with perfumed porcelain flowers among those from the hothouse, is a familiar one; [12] the inventory after her death showed that she owned 46 decorative items decorated with porcelain flowers. [13]
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Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C. The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arise mainly from vitrification and the formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. End applications include tableware, decorative ware such as figurines, toilets and washbasins, and products in technology and industry such as electrical insulators and laboratory ware.
Soft-paste 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 high firing temperatures or special mineral ingredients. There are many types, using a range of materials. The material originated in the attempts by many European potters to replicate hard-paste Chinese export porcelain, especially in the 18th century, and the best versions match hard-paste in whiteness and translucency, but not in strength. But the look and feel of the material can be highly attractive, and it can take painted decoration very well.
Chelsea porcelain is the porcelain made by the Chelsea porcelain manufactory, the first important porcelain manufactory in England, established around 1743–45, and operating independently until 1770, when it was merged with Derby porcelain. It made soft-paste porcelain throughout its history, though there were several changes in the "body" material and glaze used. Its wares were aimed at a luxury market, and its site in Chelsea, London, was close to the fashionable Ranelagh Gardens pleasure ground, opened in 1742.
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 that are not tableware and so do not need a glaze for protection.
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first 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 work and brought this type of porcelain to the market, financed by Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. The production of porcelain in the royal factory at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish, arguably, the most famous porcelain manufacturer known throughout the world. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the swords is reportedly one of the oldest trademarks in existence.
The Manufacture nationale de Sèvres is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. It has been owned by the French crown or government since 1759.
Rocaille was a French style of exuberant decoration, with an abundance of curves, counter-curves, undulations and elements modeled on nature, that appeared in furniture and interior decoration during the early reign of Louis XV of France. It was a reaction against the heaviness and formality of the Louis XIV style. It began in about 1710, reached its peak in the 1730s, and came to an end in the late 1750s, replaced by Neoclassicism. It was the beginning of the French Baroque movement in furniture and design, and also marked the beginning of the Rococo movement, which spread to Italy, Bavaria and Austria by the mid-18th century.
Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, decorative techniques, and "a glorious pot-pourri of styles - Rococo shapes with Oriental motifs, Classical shapes with Medieval designs and Art Nouveau borders were among the many wonderful concoctions". As well as pottery vessels and sculptures, the firm was a leading manufacturer of tiles and other architectural ceramics, producing work for both the Houses of Parliament and United States Capitol.
Louis-Simon Boizot (1743–1809) was a French sculptor whose models for biscuit figures for Sèvres porcelain are better-known than his large-scale sculptures.
The Imperial Porcelain Factory, also known as the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, is a producer of hand-painted ceramics in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was established by Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov in 1744 and was supported by the Russian tsars since Empress Elizabeth. Many still refer to the factory by its well-known former name, the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory.
The Doccia porcelain manufactory, at Doccia, a frazione of Sesto Fiorentino, near Florence, was in theory founded in 1735 by marchese Carlo Ginori near his villa, though it does not appear to have produced wares for sale until 1746. It has remained the most important Italian porcelain factory ever since.
Chantilly porcelain is French soft-paste porcelain produced between 1730 and 1800 by the manufactory of Chantilly in Oise, France. The wares are usually divided into three periods, 1730–1751, 1751–1760, and a gradual decline from 1760 to 1800.
Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain is a French soft-paste porcelain from the manufactory established under the patronage of Louis-François-Anne de Neufville, duc de Villeroy (1695–1766) and—from 1748—housed in outbuildings in the park of his château de Villeroy, and in the nearby village of Mennecy (Île-de-France). The history of the factory remains somewhat unclear, but it is typically regarded as producing between about 1738 and 1765.
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 known from Chinese and Japanese export porcelain. They succeeded in developing soft-paste porcelain, but Meissen porcelain 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.
Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis, called Duplessis père to distinguish him from his son, Jean-Claude-Thomas Chambellan Duplessis, was a goldsmith, sculptor and ceramics modeller, bronze-founder and decorative designer working in the Rococo manner. He served as artistic director of the Vincennes porcelain manufactory and its successor at Sèvres from 1748 to his death in 1774 and as royal goldsmith from 1758 to 1774.
Rouen porcelain is soft-paste porcelain made in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France, during a brief period from about 1673 to 1696. It was the earliest French porcelain, but was probably never made on a commercial basis; only nine pieces are now thought to survive.
Pot pourri à vaisseau or pot pourri en navire 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 Sèvres manufactory near Paris. The colours and details of the painted decoration vary between examples, as is typical of Sèvres porcelain, and one example is on a later gilt wood stand. The openwork lid lifts off to allow refilling of the pot-pourri. The shape was eventually produced in two or three versions, at slightly different sizes. It was first designed in 1757, probably by Jean-Claude Duplessis, the artistic director of the factory. The first surviving finished example dates to 1759. Another name for them is vaisseau à mat.
Jean-Louis Morin (1732-1787) was a French porcelain painter who worked at the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory from 1754 to 1787. He was a specialist in figure painting known for his depictions of military and marine scenes which he painted on useful wares, as well as ornamental and flower vases. Unusually he used his own sketches for the design of the paintings. His artist's signature featured a scrolling upper or lower cased letter M.
China painting, or porcelain painting, is the decoration of glazed porcelain objects such as plates, bowls, vases or statues. The body of the object may be hard-paste porcelain, developed in China in the 7th or 8th century, or soft-paste porcelain, developed in 18th-century Europe. The broader term ceramic painting includes painted decoration on lead-glazed earthenware such as creamware or tin-glazed pottery such as maiolica or faience.
The Londonderry Vase is a hard-paste porcelain vase, standing at 54 inches tall. It is decorated with polychrome enamels, gilding and gilt bronze mounts. It bears the Sèvres mark, two intersecting Ls with a letter in the center denoting its creation year (1813-1815) and a crown over the L's to mark it as hard-paste. The vase was commissioned by Napoleon around 1805 to be created by the Sèvres Manufactory. The vase is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
