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.
But by the 1760s, kaolin had been discovered near Limoges, and the relocated royal-owned Sèvres factory took the lead in European porcelain design as rococo turned into what is broadly known as the Louis XVI style and then the Empire style. French styles were soon being imitated in porcelain in Germany, England, and as far afield as Russia. They were also imitated in the cheaper French faience, and this and other materials elsewhere. This dominance lasted until at least 1830.
Before the French Revolution in 1789, French production was complicated by various royal patents and monopolies restricting the production of various types of wares, which could sometimes be circumvented by obtaining the "protection" of a member of the royal family or senior courtier; this might or might not involve ownership by them.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, France had a vigorous faience industry, making high-quality tin-glazed earthenware that remained in touch with artistic fashion. At least before 1800, this catered to the lower end of the market very successfully, so that porcelain factories concentrated on the top end, in France and elsewhere. Compared to other European countries, French manufacturers have generally concentrated on tablewares and decorative vessels rather than figures, with Mennecy-Villeroy porcelain being something of an exception.[1] Where figures and groups were produced, these were most often in the French invention of unglazed biscuit porcelain.
Frenchporcelain has a history spanning a period from the 17th century to the present. The French were heavily involved in the early European efforts...
Porcelain (/ˈpɔːrs(ə)lɪn/) is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200...
Limoges porcelain is hard-paste porcelain produced by factories in and around the city of Limoges, France, beginning in the late 18th century, by any...
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus...
Porcelain manufacturing companies are firms which manufacture porcelain. The table below lists European manufacturers of porcelain established before the...
lit. 'Blue flowers/patterns') covers a wide range of white pottery and porcelain decorated under the glaze with a blue pigment, generally cobalt oxide...
Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America...
Chantilly porcelain is French soft-paste porcelain produced between 1730 and 1800 by the manufactory of Chantilly in Oise, France. The wares are usually...
pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese porcelain wares made for the imperial court and for export. Chinese ceramics show...
Jingdezhen porcelain (Chinese: 景德镇陶瓷) is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province in southern China. Jingdezhen may have produced...
making hard-paste porcelain (as made in East Asia and Meissen porcelain), but found bone ash a useful addition to their soft-paste porcelain mixtures. This...
Dehua porcelain (Chinese: 德化陶瓷; pinyin: Déhuà Táocí; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tek-hòe hûi), more traditionally known in the West as Blanc de Chine (French for "White...
A bisque doll or porcelain doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of bisque or biscuit porcelain. Bisque dolls are characterized by their realistic...
Chelsea porcelain is the porcelain made by the Chelsea porcelain manufactory, the first important porcelain manufactory in England, established around...
types of European painted wares, often produced as cheaper versions of porcelain styles. English generally uses various other terms for well-known sub-types...
Porzellan-Manufaktur Dresden GmbH (Saxon Porcelain Manufactory in Dresden Ltd), generally known in English as Dresden Porcelain (though that may also mean the much...
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...
Bristol porcelain covers porcelain made in Bristol, England by several companies in the 18th and 19th centuries. The plain term "Bristol porcelain" is most...
porcelain brand based in Worcester, England. It was established in 1751 and is believed to be the oldest or second oldest remaining English porcelain...
Pottery and porcelain (陶磁器, tōjiki, also yakimono (焼きもの), or tōgei (陶芸)) is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic...
founded by Yi Sam-pyeong opened a new era of porcelain in Japan. Another Japanese representative porcelain, Satsuma ware was also founded by Dang-gil Shim...
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...
as Porcelain Black, is an American singer-songwriter and rapper. At age 16, she embarked on her music career as a solo act under the name Porcelain and...
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...
Global Information