LIMOGES VINTAGE FRENCH PORCELAIN PLATE FRAGONARD SCENE

This Lavender Pink Limoges Porcelain Plate Was Manufactured In Limoges, France. This plate is partially hand painted with transfer. There is no specific maker as such, however it is stamped Limoges, France which indicates that it was made by one of the some thirty factories that existed in Limoges, France.

This adorable & femininely charming 10 3/4" porcelain plate with its soft hue of lavender pink color and its accentuated gold gilded floral spray frames a sweet romantic rose garden scene of two lovers sitting underneath an urn of flowers & roses as they hold one another in contemplation of love. The entire rococo scene is enhanced by the repeated drape & shell embossed border which is trimmed by a 24 Kt. honey gold edge.

COMMENT: If love is in the air and romance permeates your household, this plate with its feminine touch will be on the menu for your pretty curio cabinet!

CONDITION: Excellent except for very minor wear of gold gilding on the internal floral decoration that frames the central scene.  

HISTORY OF LIMOGES FACTORIES As we know, Limoges is a “district” not a “factory” in France where over some thirty porcelain factories operated as early as 1840. This is similar to saying that Staffordshire in England is a district where over some fifty factories produced porcelains and pottery for over a couple centuries. Limoges, France is located 229 miles southwest of Paris. Today the city of Limoges has a population of 200,000 and is the 22nd largest city in France.

In 1765, a chemist’s wife discovered a white substance, in St. Yrieixin near the town of Limoges, which she hoped could be used as soap. On analysis the white substance was identified as the purest Kaolin, the essential ingredient of porcelain. This discovery has led to Limoges' prominence in the production of porcelain. The first porcelain factory in Limoges was established 6 years later in 1771. Within a few years, the Limoges porcelain became a branch of the royal manufacture at Sevres producing porcelain blanks for final decoration at Sevres.

Until the end of the 17th century the only means to obtain this material was to import it from China. Kaolin (in Chinese meaning white clay) is the primary substance for making porcelain. Apparently Kaolin was non existent in the underground of Europe. Moreover, the Chinese were bitterly safeguarding the secrets of its processing method.

Towards the end of the 18th century Kaolin was finally discovered around Limoges in France. This started the history of Limoges porcelain. A small town, Limoges was one of the oldest in the French kingdom. In the beginning one manufacturing facility was set up, rapidly followed by several more, prominently to meet the demands of European courts. The most prestigious artists of those days; painters in particular, became interested in this fabulous substance. As a result essential objects for daily use as well as decorative articles became available. Since then masterpieces were created and passed along generations worldwide. Some such articles can be viewed at the “Musee de la porcelaine de Limoges" the most important in the world for its specificity.

Some of the famous names in terms of factories were: Charles Field Haviland…In 1842 David Haviland went to Limoges from New York seeking porcelain to import into the United States. The Haviland family had earlier emigrated from Limoges to the US. By 1855 he had constructed an enormous factory in Limoges. Then there was Theodore Haviland at TV Limoges; some of the other famous names were: Ahrenfeldt, William Guerin, Pouyat, Elite, and Tressemann & Vogt.

Some of their factory artists were Le Tallec, Antoine Soustre, Dubois and A. Broussillon- just to name several.

When talking about artist signed pieces, one must ask the question “were these artists employed at the factories or are these pieces “blanks” that were shipped to USA and Canada and painted and signed by local artist or nuns in convents”? It was very typical at the turn of the century for nuns during their sabbatical to keep their vows of silence by expressing their mediation onto porcelain; as well, this was a hobby for very rich ladies of gentry to pass the time by artistically painting fluffy flowers & gaudy roses onto porcelain. This was very commonplace at the time. Therefore many artist signed pieces were not produced in the various factories. Pricing would depend upon the quality of hand painting and subject matter.