Jean Népomucène Hermann Nast (1754–1817) was founder of a porcelain manufacture that pioneered a process of high relief, multicolored

hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made in China a ...

. Nast was born in Austria. He worked at a state porcelain workshop at the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

before starting his own factory, the

manufacture de Nast The manufacture de Nast was a prominent hard-paste porcelain factory founded in Paris in 1783 by Jean Népomucène Hermann Nast, an Austrian born French citizen. Nast porcelain was produced until 1835, and was one of a number of factories making ...

, in 1783. There, Nast collaborated with French chemist

Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin Prof. Louis Nicolas Vauquelin FRS(For) HFRSE (16 May 1763 – 14 November 1829) was a French pharmacist and chemist. He was the discoverer of both chromium and beryllium. Early life Vauquelin was born at Saint-André-d'Hébertot in Normandy, Fr ...

in introducing new intensely colored glazes. At the beginning of the 19th century the manufacture had risen to prominence, rivalling the

manufacture nationale de Sèvres 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 ...

, supplying French nobility, the government of the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, and many European courts. Following Nast's death at Paris in 1817, his sons continued to operate the factory until its sale in 1835.

References

* Margaret Brown Klapthor. ''Official White House China: 1789 to the Present.'' The Barra Foundation and Harry N. Abrams: 1999. . * This article is partially translated from the article Jean Népomucène Hermann Nast on the French Wikipedia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nast, Jean Nepomucene Hermann 1754 births 1817 deaths Austrian businesspeople Porcelain of France French decorative artists French potters Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery