The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres'' () is one of the principal European

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

factories. It is located in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

, 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. Its production is still largely based on the creation of contemporary objects today. It became part of the '' Cité de la céramique'' in 2010 with the ''Musée national de céramique'', and since 2012 with the '' Musée national Adrien Dubouché'' in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , 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. Situated o ...

History

Origins

In 1740, the '' Manufacture de Vincennes'' was founded, thanks to the support of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

's polish born wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska who was noted as an avid porcelain collector in her early years as Queen. According to the memoirs of the Duke de Luynes it was Queen Marie who originally promoted porcelain in Versailles by having regular commissions such as the first colored porcelain flowers presented to her by the company in her royal apartments in April 1748 in order to compete with the Chantilly porcelain and Meissen Porcelain in Germany. Louis XV's mistress

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

then followed and became a patron in 1751. By 1756, the manufactury was moved to a building in Sèvres, built at the initiative of Madame de Pompadour, near her château de Bellevue. One hundred thirty metres long and four storeys high, the building was erected between 1753 and 1756 by the architect Laurent Lindet on the site of a farm called "de la Guyarde." There was a central pavilion surmounted by a pediment with a clock from the old royal glass-makers on the fourth level, with two long wings terminating in corner pavilions at each end. In front of the pavilion was a "public" courtyard, enclosed by a wrought-iron fence. This front area was decorated twice a month in order to hold parties for visitors. The ground floor of the building contained clay reserves, books and storerooms of raw materials. The first floor contained the workshops of the moulders, plasterers, sculptors, engravers and the ovens. On the second floor were the sculptors, turners, repairers and packers. Finally, the painters, gilders and makers of animals and figures worked in the loft Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis served as artistic director of the Vincennes porcelain manufactory and its successor at Sèvres from 1748 to his death in 1774. The manufactory was bought by the King in 1759, although Madame de Pompadour was allowed effective free rein to oversee it. A period of superb quality in both design and production followed, creating much of the enduring reputation of French porcelain. The light-hearted

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

was given a more serious air, often by restricting it to the painting, rather than the porcelain shape.

Development of hard-paste porcelain

Initially, the manufactory produced

soft-paste porcelain Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial 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 hig ...

. In 1768, the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

chemist, Vilaris and his friend Jean-Baptiste Darnet discovered the first deposit of

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

on French soil at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche to the south of

. On 13 February 1771, the Comte de Thy de Milly of the Royal Academy of Sciences sent the academy a report on the creation of

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

. This report was published in 1777 in volume 7 of the encyclopedia, ''Art de la porcelaine''. This work derived from his observations of the different manufacturies of Germany, especially Meissen. "Up to this time, the manufacturies of France – Sèvres not excepted – have only produced glass porcelain, which only has some qualities of the real thing...". Hard-paste porcelain began to be manufactured in Sèvres after 1770, but soft-paste was also continued, only finally being dropped in 1804. Vincennes had made a certain amount of painted plaques that were sold to furniture-makers to be inset in furniture, but at Sèvres these became a significant part of production. Figures were almost entirely in unglazed biscuit porcelain, an "invention" of Vincennes. Louis-Simon Boizot was director between 1774 and 1800. Even before the French Revolution, the initially severe style of

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

had begun to turn grandiose and ornate in goods for the courts of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. This trend deepened with the rise of Napoleon, which followed a difficult period for French porcelain factories. The

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

was marked by lavish

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

, strong colours, and references to military conquests; Napoleon's ultimately unsuccessful expedition to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

sparked a fashion for "Neo-Egyptian" wares. In 1800 Napoleon, as Minister of the Interior, appointed

Alexandre Brongniart Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil conten ...

director at Sèvres; he was to stay 47 years, making many changes. The factory concentrated on tableware and larger decorative pieces such as vases and table centrepieces, much of it for the government to use or give as diplomatic presents. The Empire style grew more elaborate and ostentatious as the century continued, developing most aspects of "Victorian" taste in a French style. Under the Second Empire from 1852 to 1870, there was a revival of Louis XVI style at Sèvres, often more heavily painted and gilded. Many of the old moulds which the factory had kept were used again.

Henri Victor Regnault Henri Victor Regnault (21 July 1810 – 19 January 1878) was a French chemist and physicist best known for his careful measurements of the thermal properties of gases. He was an early thermodynamicist and was mentor to William Thomson in ...

became director in 1854. In 1875, the manufactory was transferred to buildings which had been specially built by the French state next to the Parc de Saint-Cloud. It is still on this site today, classed as a

Monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

, but still in operation. Sèvres turned to a more diluted version of

Japonisme ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the Bakumatsu, forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1 ...

after 1870, and in 1897, a new artistic director, A. Sandier, introduced new

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

styles, followed about a decade later by styles leading to

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

. In 1920, the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres () was a 1920 treaty signed between some of the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire, but not ratified. The treaty would have required the cession of large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, ...

, the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, was signed at the factory.

Women at the royal manufactory

At the Manufacture de Vincennes, in 1748, a "floristry" composed of twenty young girls was established under the direction of Madame Gravant. It continued its activities until 1753, when women were banned from the factory. In 1756 Sèvres employed two hundred male workers. "... The few women who continued to work at Vincennes and then at Sèvres, after this he floristry henceforth worked from home, picking up the wares, taking them home and bringing them back each day, despite the risk of breaking the delicate objects which they painted and burnished.".

Production of porcelain

The factory retains a huge collection of moulds, going back to its beginning, and mixes the production of old and new shapes. Slipcasting is the main technique for "hollow" wares like vases. The kaolin was brought, traditionally, from Saint-Yrieix near Limoges. Nowadays there are many sources. The glaze, applied as enamel over the kaolin paste after firing is made mainly of Marcognac

pegmatite A pegmatite is an igneous rock showing a very coarse texture, with large interlocking crystals usually greater in size than and sometimes greater than . Most pegmatites are composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica, having a similar silicic c ...

, mixed with feldspath and

quart The quart (symbol: qt) is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal ...

. The blue of Sèvres is a characteristic colour of the manufactory. It is made from a

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...

oxide which is incorporated into the glaze.

19th century kilns

The ceramicist Ambroise Milet was Director of the Paste Kilns and Chief of Manufacture at the manufactury before he left it in 1883 at the age of 53. One of the key tasks of Ambroise Milet was the construction of six great

Anagama kiln The ''anagama'' kiln (Japanese Kanji: 穴窯/ Hiragana: あながま) is an ancient type of pottery kiln brought to Japan from China via Korea in the 5th century. It is a version of the climbing dragon kiln of south China, whose further deve ...

s in 1877. These kilns are today classed as French monuments historiques. The kilns consist of a cylindrical body separated into three levels. The lowest is called the "first laboratoire" and is 2.6 m in diameter and 3 m tall. The middle level is called the "second laboratoire" and is 2.6 metres in diameter and 2 metres high. The top level is the 2-metre-high chimney cone. The firebox is an opening at the bottom of the first laboratoire, 1 metre high, 0.58 metres wide and 0.29 metres deep. In the vault between the first and second laboratoires, is a large

flue A flue is a duct, pipe, or opening in a chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. Historically the term flue meant the chimney itself. In the United States, they a ...

at the centre and 9 small ones around the edge. These flues serve to guide the flames and release the heated gas. Grills, called "flue-guards" are arranged to divide the flames. At the base of the second laboratoire, a little fire box helps to increase the temperature further. The oven contains four fireboxes for distributing the heat effectively. Only

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

wood is used to heat the oven. Its strong and quick combustion is uniform, its flames are long and it releases few cinders. Only this wood can bring the oven to the high temperatures required (800 °C in the small fires, nearly 1300 °C in the main one). The logs of wood are 73 cm long. The oven can fire biscuit porcelain in 15–16 hours and glass or glazed porcelain in 11–12 hours. One firing requires 25 cubic metres of wood, which is burnt over 48 hours using a specialised technique in order to raise the temperature. The oven then takes between fifteen and twenty days to cool down. The wall which blocks the oven door is dismantled in order to empty the oven. A hundred pieces are fired at once, depending on their exact size. The firing process gives the incomparable enamel quality to the porcelain which cannot be obtained by other techniques. The cause of this is the high uniformity of heat in the oven and the extremely gradual cooling process. Among other things, these ovens are uniquely capable of producing large pieces, which Sèvres has made a speciality. The last large firing with wood took place in October 2006. Nearly 180 pieces were produced for ''l'Epreuve du Feu'' ("the trial by flame"), the name of the exhibition which these pieces were displayed in at the Parisian gallery of the manufactury, before they were dispersed. The opening of the oven, as it began to burn, was broadcast live on television. The next firing will be announced on the official website of the manufactury. Aside from these exceptional firings, the manufactory uses electric ovens for all contemporary production.

Manufacture today

Until 2009, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres was a 'Service à compétence nationale' (national service) administered by the French ministry of culture and communication. As a result of a decree of 26 December 2009, from 1 January 2010, the manufactory formed the public organisation ''Sèvres – Cité de la céramique'' (Sèvres – Ceramic City), along with the Musée national de la céramique. On 1 May 2012, the Musée national de la porcelaine Adrien-Dubouché was also made part of this public organisation, whose name was changed to Cité de la céramique – Sèvres et Limoges.. Since becoming a public organisation, its mission, in accordance with its origins in 1740, is to produce ceramic works of art using artisanal techniques, including both reproductions of old models and contemporary creations. It produces items both for state needs and commercial sale, and is charged with promoting technological and artistic research in ceramics. Its work is concentrated on the upmarket pieces, maintaining a high quality of artisanry, while neglecting industrial scale mass production. The creations of the manufacturer are displayed in only two galleries: one in Sèvres and the other in the heart of Paris, in the 1st arrondissement, between the Louvre and the Comédie-Française. The manufacturer also organises numerous exhibitions around the world and participates in a number of contemporary art festivals.

Notable artists

Due to its reputation for excellence and its prestige, the manufactory has always attracted some of the best ceramists. Among the best known are:

Gallery

Flower Vase - Sevres Porcelain - France - 18th century

File:Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Potpourri Vase (Vase potpourri à vaisseau) - Walters 48559.jpg, Sèvres pot-pourri vase in the shape of a ship, or ''Vase à vaisseau'', 1764. One of the most famous shapes, of which only 10 examples survive. File:Sèvres porcelain manufactory, Fan-shaped jardiniere and stand, 1758 at Waddesdon Manor.jpg, Fan-shaped jardinière and stand, 1758 at

Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...

File:Sèvres porcelain manufactory, Annette and Lubin, c. 1764 at Waddesdon Manor (cropped).jpg, Annette and Lubin, biscuit porcelain, c. 1764 at

File:Sèvres porcelain manufactory, Pot-pourri vase, 1763 at Waddesdon Manor.jpg, Pot-pourri vase, 1763 at

File:Sèvres Sucrier - pot à sucre Bouret shape - circa 1770.JPG, Sèvres sucrier and cover – sugar pot, Bouret shape – c. 1770 File:Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - One of a Pair of Potpourri Vases (Vases ovales Mercure) - Walters 48635 - Back.jpg, Potpourri ''vase ovale Mercure'' in early Neoclassical taste, c. 1770 (

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

) File:Table ecriture carlin 00 082006.JPG, Writing table with porcelain plaques inset ( Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, 1772) File:Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - The Toilet of Madame - Walters 48995.jpg, ''The Toilet of Madame'': Hard-paste porcelain, marble,

ormolu Ormolu (; ) is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold– mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln, leaving behind a gold coating. The French refer to ...

base, 1775, a domestic scene from upper-class life File:Ngv, jacques-françois Micaud, zuppiera e vassorio, porcellana di sèvres.JPG, Tureen by ''Jacques-François Micaud'' (1732/1735–1811), national Gallery of Victoria, Australia File:Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory - Pair of Vases - Walters 48566, 48567 - Group.jpg, Vases made for Louis XVI, 1778–1782 File:Porcelaine Sevres riche en couleurs et riche en or Versailles.jpg, Pieces of a service "with decoration rich in colours and rich in gold" produced by the manufactory for Queen

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

in 1784 File:Louvre biscuit.jpg, Figure of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

crowning Beauty (

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, end of the 18th century) File:Cup (tasse Jasmin), part of Breakfast Service (déjeuner) MET LC-56 29 5-002.jpg,

cup with silver handle from a breakfast service File:Pair of green vases, painted by Jean Georget, mounts by Pierre-Philippe Thomire, 2 of 2, Sèvres porcelain, 1809, soft-paste porcelain - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT - DSC05497.jpg, One of a pair of vases, 1809 File:Teapot, Sèvres Porcelain Factory, 1817, hard-paste porcelain - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT - DSC05506.jpg, Teapot, 1817 File:Vase portrait louvre.JPG, Vase depicting

Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

(

, 1837) File:Standing cup (coupe Chenavard) MET DP104402.jpg, Cup, 1837, imitating Renaissance metalwork 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 ...

File:Flambeaux porcelaine de Sèvres.jpg, Figure in biscuit, for the Paris

Exposition Universelle (1900) The Exposition Universelle of 1900 (), better known in English as the 1900 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from 14 April to 12 November 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate develop ...

File:Sevres World Fair Vase.jpg, Swan vase, for the Paris

File:Michallon manufacture de Sèvres.jpg, Manufacture de Sèvres in 1817 (not the current building), by Achille-Etna Michallon

References

Bibliography

* Battie, David, ed., ''Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain'', 1990, Conran Octopus. * Georges Lechevallier-Chevignard, ''La Manufacture de porcelaine de Sèvres : histoire, organisation, ateliers, musée céramique, répertoire des marques et monogrammes d'artistes'', Paris, le Livre d'histoire, 2013, Online a

* Tamara Préaud et Guilhem Scherf (ed.), ''La manufacture des lumières. La sculpture à Sèvres de Louis XV à la Révolution'', xhibition Catalogue Éditions Faton, 2015, *Zarucchi, Jeanne Morgan, "The Shepherdess' Progress: From Favart to Boucher to Sèvres," ''Konsthistorisk tidskrift (Journal of Art History)'', Vol. 85, No. 2 (2016), pp. 141–58.

External links

''Sèvres - Cité de la céramique'' – official website

Waddesdon Manor – Sèvres highlights
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manufacture nationale de Sevres 1756 establishments in France Manufacturing companies established in 1756 Sevres sevres History of Hauts-de-Seine Buildings and structures in Hauts-de-Seine Companies based in Île-de-France Waddesdon Manor Madame de Pompadour