Limoges porcelain is

hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made in China ...

produced by factories in and around the city of

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, 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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

beginning in the late 18th century, but does not refer to a particular manufacturer. By about 1830, Limoges, which was close to the areas where suitable clay was found, had replaced Paris as the main centre for private porcelain factories, although the state-owned

Sèvres porcelain Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for it ...

near Paris remained dominant at the very top of the market. Limoges has maintained this position to the present day.

History

Limoges had strong antecedents in the production of decorative objects. The city was the most famous European centre of

vitreous enamel Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...

production in the 12th century, 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 ...

was known as ''Opus de Limogia'' or ''Labor Limogiae''.''Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages'' by Julia De Wolf Gi Addison p.97''ff''
/ref> Limoges had also been the site of a minor industry producing plain

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

earthenware since the 1730s. The manufacturing of

at Limoges was established by

Turgot Turgot may refer to: * Turgot of Durham ( – 1115), Prior of Durham and Bishop of St Andrews * Michel-Étienne Turgot (1690–1751), mayor of Paris * Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781), French economist and statesman * Louis Félix Étienn ...

in 1771 following the discovery of local supplies of

kaolin Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

and a material similar to

petuntse Petuntse (from 白墩子 in pinyin: ), 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 decomposition processes that res ...

in the economically distressed area at

Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (; oc, link=no, Sent Iriès, ) 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 ...

, near Limoges. The materials, which were quarried beginning in 1768, were used to produce hard-paste porcelain similar to

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from construc ...

. A manufactory at Limoges was placed under the patronage of the

comte d'Artois Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Loui ...

, brother of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, and was later purchased by the King in 1784, apparently with the idea of producing hard-paste bodies for decoration at

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for i ...

, although this never happened. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

a number of private factories were established at Limoges, including Bernardaud, Haviland & Co. and

Royal Limoges Royal Limoges is a 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, but does not refer to a particular manufacturer. By about 1830, L ...

Present day

Limoges maintains the position it established in the 19th century as the premier manufacturing city of porcelain in France. Counterfeiting of Limoges porcelain has been documented for decades.

Notes

References

*M. Ernoud-Gandouet, ''La Céramique en France au XIXe siècle'' (Paris) 1969. *Mary Frank Gaston, ''The Collector's Encyclopedia of Limoges''. *Nancy du Tertre, ''The Art of the Limoges Box'' (2003).

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limoges Porcelain Porcelain of France 1771 introductions

History

Present day

See also

Notes

References

External links