Vincennes porcelain
| Company type | Manufactory |
|---|---|
| Industry | Porcelain manufacturing |
| Founded | 1740 |
| Founder | Claude-Humbert Gérin |
| Headquarters | Vincennes , France |
| Products | Porcelain tea sets, dining services, ornamental vases, porcelain flowers |
The Vincennes porcelain factory was founded in 1740 within the abandoned royal Château de Vincennes, located to the east of Paris, which served as its main customer base.
History
The enterprise was initiated by businessman Claude-Humbert Gérin, who assembled a team of artisans from the Chantilly manufactory, including the financially troubled brothers Gilles and Robert Dubois, known for their skills in sculpture and painting. Early development stages culminated in a partnership with Orry de Fulvy to establish a production site inside the château, focusing on crafting lustrous white soft-paste porcelain.
Jesuit Father Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles disclosed the techniques behind Chinese porcelain in 1712, with his findings published in 1735. While Meissen porcelain benefited from European kaolin deposits near Dresden, French hard-paste porcelain awaited the subsequent discovery of kaolin deposits around Limoges.
Initial trials yielded numerous flawed items, resulting in financial difficulties despite noble patronage. The founding collaborators eventually withdrew, leaving management to Louis-François Gravant (deceased 1765). Continued support from Orry de Fulvy led to commercial success circa 1745, backed by a group of twenty-one tax farmers. Royal endorsement commenced with a 1745 privilege granted by Louis XV for producing porcelain "in the manner of Saxon Meissen," favoring partner Charles Adam. In the same year, silversmith Jean-Claude Duplessis became involved, creating vases that exemplified French Rococo aesthetics.
The manufactory specialized in crafting tea sets, dining services, and ornamental vases frequently inspired by Meissen porcelain—characterized as "in the style of Saxony, painted and gilded and featuring human figures." It became known for its realistic floral motifs incorporated into bouquets or gilt-bronze chandeliers commissioned by Parisian marchands-merciers, who coordinated various artisanal trades. Sculptors contributed models for table sculptures, and in 1751, a white unglazed matte biscuit porcelain resembling marble was introduced.
Innovations in glaze colors included bleu céleste (a vivid sky blue), bleu turquoise ("Turkish" blue), and deep bleu lapis, often enhanced with gilded veins that concealed glaze inconsistencies. The technique of enamel painting over fired glazes was refined to approach the quality of miniature portraits. Vincennes mastered gilding atop fired glazes followed by low-temperature refiring, creating luxury items unrivaled elsewhere in France.
In April 1748, a three-foot-tall vase adorned with porcelain flowers was gifted to Queen Marie Leszczyńska, demonstrating Vincennes' craftsmanship and featuring a gilt-bronze mount commissioned by a Parisian marchand-mercier. The duc de Luynes praised it as surpassing Saxon works due to its whiteness and finesse:
"M. de Fulvy... presented [the Queen] a porcelain vase... containing a bouquet of 480 flowers... mounted on gilt-bronze pedestal costing 100 louis; the porcelain cost as much; it is a perfect work... superior to that of Saxony for making flowers."
A similar vase was commissioned by Dauphine Maria Josepha to be sent to her father, Elector of Saxony Augustus III of Poland, who was also a patron of Meissen porcelain.
Following the deaths of both Fulvy brothers in 1750–51, financial difficulties arose but were alleviated when King Louis XV placed Vincennes under royal patronage, although it did not attain full manufacture royale status. It continued under the personal sponsorship of Madame de Pompadour. From 1752 onward, Duplessis designed covered vases known as pot-pourri Pompadour. Painter Jean-Jacques Bachelier took charge of enameling starting in 1751; meanwhile, chemist Jean Hellot oversaw chemical processes, advancing studies on clays, glazes, and enamel pigments.
After 1752, a Royal Edict granted Vincennes exclusive rights over polychrome decoration, restricting other factories' capacities in this domain.
Relocation to Sèvres (1756)
In 1756, the Vincennes porcelain manufactory was transferred to new facilities located in Sèvres, to the west of Paris. By 1759, as the factory neared financial collapse, the King intervened by acquiring it, thereby initiating the famous Sèvres porcelain brand, which directly descended from Vincennes. In 1757, Étienne Maurice Falconet assumed leadership of the sculpture workshop, officially designating Vincennes as a manufacture royale de porcelaine. The practice of applying datemarks along with painters' and gilders' signatures—allowing precise identification of Sèvres creations—originated at Vincennes in 1753.
Porcelain floral arrangements continued to be the main commercial attraction for Vincennes. Mme de Pompadour, residing near the new location at her Château de Bellevue, made substantial acquisitions to embellish her chambers. A notable story describes her entertaining Louis XV in a conservatory decorated with fragrant porcelain flowers alongside actual greenhouse plants. Her estate inventory compiled after her death recorded 46 ornamental pieces incorporating porcelain flowers.