History and Description
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SE V R E S 1 755 OR G ROUND S OF HISTO RY A ND DE SCRIPTIO N I N G E R IE U R D E S A R T S E T M A N FA C U R I E N I E U R E T CHE F D E FA BR IC A U T E S, N G TIO N A LA M A N U FACT U R E N A TIO N A LE D E S po RC E LA I N E s D E SE V R E S ( 1 879- 1 889) T RA N SLATE D A N D E D ITE D BY A U T HO R O F HI T R Y O F E N LI SH PO R CE LA I N S O G , E TC . NTA ININ N - A E S IN C L UR S TOGE HE I CO G T WE TYFO UR PL T O O , T R W TH RE PR OD UCTIONS OF M A R KS A N D N UM E R O U S ILL USTR A TIONS P R E F A C E . THE history of French porcelain must always be full of interest r to the English reader because , beyond the int insic merits of the material and the marvell ous technical skill displayed in r o the finest examples of F ench p rcelain , we can never forget that the earliest English porcelains , particularly those of Bow and Chelsea, owed so much , both directly and indirectly, to r our neighbou s across the Channel . f We need of er no excuse , therefore , for this new work on r o the histo y of French p rcelain , written by a hand so competent A “ S. usch r Mr . e as that of . E , who , besides having been Chef o Se r r 1 8 79 1 8 8 9 de Fabricati n at the v es manufacto y from to , has a E uropean reputation for his knowledge of all matters A uscher connected with the manufacture of porcelain . Mr . has been collecting materials for this history of French porce lain for many years , and it seems to me a fortunate circumstance that the results of his labours should make their appearance in - England , where to day so many magnificent collections of the - old soft paste porcelains exist . - r The artificial soft paste po celain , composed of a large pro r r m po tion of glass or f it , with a s all proportion of marl and z chalk, and glazed with a luscious gla e rich in lead, is often distinctively spoken of on the Continent as French porcelain, just as true felspathic porcelain is spoken of as German PR E FA CE . v i d m r s w r a because thes e two entirely issi ila product e e porcel in , in ro o r . fi rst perfected , Eu pe, in th se count ies r f and The artificial French porcelain was ex t emely di ficult , for therefore costly, to manufacture , reasons which are most clearly explained in this volume . In no other country but t for France was its manufacture con inued any considerable r r length of time ; for while the earliest English po celains we e a undoubtedly very similar in composition to those of Ch ntilly, n Se r r Mennecy , Vince nes, and vres , the ing edients we e soon o fi r r m di ed , and the manufactu e rende ed more certain, by the addition of bone -ash to the materials of the paste ; an innova tion which finally became common at all the English factories r r - n and led to our cha acte istic English bone porcelai . Long after this change had commenced in England the French factories continued to manufacture their costly artificial or it r of p celain , and was not until the latter pa t the eighteenth century that this distinctively French product was abandoned for r r - a simple , and cheape , hard paste porcelain analogous to t rm Far a hat of Ge any and of the E st. It was only by the patronage of great nobles like the e o Due Princ de C ndé at Chantilly, the de Villeroy at Mennecy, and the King of France and his favourites at Vincennes and Se , t vres hat the manufacture was able to persist so long, and ’ no one r Mr A can ead . uscher s account of the enormous sums of money lavished on these undertakings without realising the o r r r precari us nature of the ea ly F ench po celain industry. r t om F om the modes c mencements of the French porcelains d R St pro uced at ouen and . Cloud at the end of the seventeenth c n r e tury , with thei simple decorative patterns in under -glaze l to t , he ri m d b ue t u phant pro uctions of Sevres between 1 756 and vii PR E FA CE . 1 770 the , when all that unlimited expenditure and highest technical skill could accomplish was lavished on the pieces produced for the Royal palaces of France , we have practically an unbroken record of French taste and French craftsmanship - for three quarters of a century . The most fastidious artist cannot but feel the charm of the r the mate ial and colour of rare pieces of Rouen , the early St i examples of . Cloud , made in mitation of the white porcelains “ the r of Fuchien , and Chantilly wares deco ated with Kakiye ” and - mon designs on an opaque milk white glaze . But the later and more elaborate productions of Vincennes e re ff and S vres a on a di erent plane. Where we are able to see the t d whi e material it charms us by its ten er, translucent ’ Hell ot s r quality, recalling desc iption of a porcelain with a fine , solid white grain like squeezed snow the freshness and beauty r a - of the colou ed grounds whether of turquoise , pple green or rose r r Pompadour, are quite unrivalled among colou s applied ove the glaze ; the pieces are enriched with the most skilful paint r : s ing , elieved by the richest gilding they are, in a word , marvel h r of tec nical skill . Pe fectly embodying the taste of their r k pe iod , the most s ilful works of their kind that have ever been m r produced , they set the fashion so co pletely in F ance, as well as Se in England and other European countries , that the vres styles , Se r Se w v es patterns , and vres ideals were accepted and follo ed , for r r d almost as an article of faith , mo e than a centu y. To ay, t however , probably no one would deny that ar istically these wonderful pieces of old Sevres cannot be compared to Chinese ‘ - r i single colou ed or Flambé porcelains , to the painted fa ences of Persia or Asia Minor, or to Italian majolica of the best period . Collectors and connoisseurs in every country have owned the E viii PR E FA C . charm of French porcelain in unstinted measure , and they r r of cannot but appreciate an account of the rise and p og ess all r o the noted French porcelain factories so clea and l gical , yet so h r ma usc e . r t Mr. A full and p ecise , as hat given by It y seem f or invidious to single out any portions of the work special “ to - m bu t r X . A ention, Chapte I The ttempts produce Hard paste ” or r r I on Se r P celain in F ance ; Chapte XII , The v es Biscuits “ r I o m and Chapte XVI , on Modern Developments , c ntain uch that will be new to the maj ority of English readers ; while the final chapter on Forgeries should prove invaluable to every o l or c l ect . The publishers have spared no pains or expense in the illus tration of or m of ar the w k, and any the coloured illustrations e the most faithful renderings of perfect examples that have been m r ade hithe to . ’ Mr A us h r s . c e I have to thank in name, as well as my own, the keepers of the various English and French museums for their kindness in according facilities for obtaining the necessary o ph tographs ; and our fullest acknowledgments are due to M. Georges Papillon for his permission to reproduce the marks Se r r r r of the v es painte s and deco ato s, which will be found at “ S on . the end of the ection Marks Lastly, I must thank Mlle . o for W of lters invaluable assistance in the work translation, and Mr . for E his r r - G Hawke kindness in eading the p oof sheets . WILLIA M BURTO N . CLI FT N J U N OTI ON O , N E AR AN CHE E R M ST . Febr uar 1905 y, . C N T E T S O N . CHAPTE R I N C I . THE NV ENTION OF PORCELA IN I FRAN E I I F E I 1 3 . I A IN A I A N D FI R S CCE E N R O EN RST SS YS P R S, ST U SS S U V BOR III .