Sèvres:  Porcelain for the Their Majesties' Table

The French national porcelain company, Sèvres, was a leading producer of fine ceramics in Europe throughout the eighteenth century, but suffered heavily during the revolutionary period and was nearly bankrupt when Napoleon assumed power as First Consul in 1799. 

 

Alexandre Brogniart (1770-1847), a highly distinguished scientist trained in chemistry, mineralogy, and zoology, revitalized the production of Sèvres porcelain.  Appointed as administrator of Sèvres in 1800 by Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's minister of the interior, Brogniart demonstrated impressive managerial, financial, and aesthetic talents in this position.    

For 47 years until his death, Broignart presided over a major transformation of Sèvres.  Under Broignart, soft-paste was eliminated and production shifted exclusively to hard-paste porcelain, thanks to the discovery of kaolin near Limoges.  Distinguished artists were engaged to provide new designs in the Empire style, based on Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities.  Others, such as the outstanding miniaturist Jean-Baptiste Isabey, were employed to paint the products. 

Napoleon included Sèvres in the Emperor's civil list and granted it an annual subsidy.  This proved an excellent investment, as the factory became the major producer and promoter of the Empire Style in porcelain, and its products became highly sought and imitated throughout Europe.   An example of the neoclassical pattern which became the representative style of the Empire period is found in this coffee service presented to Napoleon and Josephine by the Sèvres company on January 1, 1805, following the coronation.

 

Both Napoleon and Josephine were major patrons of Sèvres.  The splendid Egyptian service, pictured below, celebrated Napoleon's expedition to the Nile with a blue background highlighted with gold hieroglyphics.  It was inspired by the drawings of Baron Dominique Vivant Lenon (1747-1825), a noted scientist who had participated in the Egyptian expedition.  It consists of a massive center - a biscuit table decoration stretching for over twenty two feet in length - and a magnificent desert service consisting of seventy two plates, twelve compotiers, four sugar pots, two jam pots, four ice buckets, four baskets and four figures carrying dishes. Each plate is hand painted with a different Egyptian scene, most likely by Jacques-Francois-Joseph Swebach (1769-1823), the leading artist of the Sèvres factory.  The completed service was a gift from Napoleon to Tsar Alexander I to celebrate the alliance between Russia and France in 1808, and can still be seen today at the Ceramic Museum at Kuskovo, near Moscow.

 

Like the Egyptian service, many of the pieces produced at Sèvres during the Empire reflect the major events of the period.  Most of Napoleon's campaigns resulted in commissions for suites of large commemorative vases.  A particularly striking example is this tall vase (fuseau) with the iconic image of Napoleon crossing the Alps, after the famous painting by David.  The vase, produced in 1811, belonged to Napoleon's mother, Madame Mère, Letizia Bonaparte, and is now in the permanent collection of the Musée du Louvre.  

The new imperial nobility also ordered services, particularly the newly crowned siblings of Napoleon, who were quick to mark their reigns with a proper set of porcelain from Sèvres. 

Today, as La Manufacture National de Sèvres, the factory continues in operation and remains one of the world's most prestigious sources for elegant porcelain table services and decorative objects. 

Buying vintage Sèvres, however, is difficult, as the marks associated with it are among the most copied in the world of antiques.  Attributing a piece of porcelain to Sèvres by the marks alone is not a reliable method of identification.  It requires a true expert to determine whether a piece is genuinely from Sèvres by whether it corresponds to a certain stage in the factory's stylistic development, the dates when it used specific background colors, and the style and technique of the artist who painted it - not an easy task indeed!   Porcelain connoisseurs, however, find collecting Sevres compelling, citing its "unique style," "creativity of its decorators," "the texture of the porcelain," and "unparalleled innovation."  And, it goes without saying, they are not deterred by price! 

The late Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973), heiress to the Post cereal fortune, had a passion for Sèvres porcelain, and amassed one of the most outstanding collections in the world.  I was fortunate to catch the exhibit of "Sèvres Then and Now: Tradition and Innovation in Porcelain, 1750-2000" at the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens just before it closed on May 30, as I mentioned in the Spring issue of the Newsletter.  Among my favorite pieces on exhibit were a tea and coffee set decorated with the Egyptian theme that Napoleon presented to the Duchesse de Montebello,  widow of Marshall Lannes, and a splendid tea service in the most exquisite shade of mauve, which he presented to his legendary (and notorious) sister, Paulina Borghese - see her profile in our November 2008 issue. 

  

In 1793, as Corsica plunged into civil war and their properties were ransacked, Letizia and her children fled to France where for a while suffered even greater penury, at one point reportedly lodging in two small rooms in Marseilles and relying on a soup kitchen for food.  Soon, however, Napoleon's success in quelling a revolt in Paris led to promotion and he was able to provide Letizia with an income of 60,000 francs, a considerable sum at the time.  The triumphant Italian campaign of 1796-97, brought even greater riches which Napoleon again shared generously with his clan.  Letizia would not lack for money ever again. 

 

After the Empire was proclaimed in 1804, Napoleon granted titles to his brothers and sisters, while Letizia became - 'Madame Mère de Sa Majesté l'Empereur' (or 'Madam the Mother of His Majesty the Emperor,"  "Madame Mère" for short), a designation which did not please her but was meant to establish Napoleon's status as head of  his family, as well as of state.   Nevertheless, Letizia continued to assert her right to counsel and scold all of her children, even as they became kings and queens, princes and  princesses, and Napoleon I, master of most of Europe.  It was Letizia's view that each of her children should benefit equally from Napoleon's victories, and each time he bestowed an honor on one sibling Letizia urged him to restore the equilibrium with awards to the others. Letizia also played an unofficial but powerful role in Corsican politics - it is said that nothing major occurred without her approval - and oversaw the Imperial Charities.

Letizia disapproved of Napoleon's two wives.  She thoroughly disliked Josephine even before meeting her, remarking that she "was an old woman with grown-up children."  She remained  impervious to Josephine's many efforts to win her over and joined in family intrigues against "that woman" with unflagging hostility.  She also dismissed Marie-Louise with characteristic bluntness:  "She is not one of us."