Sevres Porcelain at the Ashmolean

Today I went on a Lunchtime Gallery Tour at the Ashmolean Museum, one of the world’s most renowned art and archaeology museums.  The title of the tour was “Sevres and Other French Porcelain.”  I had heard of Sevres porcelain and seen pictures of Sevres ornately-decorated cobalt blue and gold cups and saucers, but I knew nothing about its history.

The tour started at 1:15, but I was in line for tickets at 12:30 (I was first in the queue).  About 15 people went on the tour  --  that’s the limit.  Our guide was a very knowledgeable woman in her 60s, who knew a lot about Sevres and the technical aspects of ceramics.  She made an interesting comment about ceramics design – that it was modeled on silverware, just as furniture design was modeled on architecture. Hmmm…

Manufacture of this type of porcelain began in Chantilly, but moved to the Chateau de Vincennes in 1738. In 1756 King Louis XV moved the operation to Sevres, a suburb of Paris. Sevres was also near the home of Madame de Pompadour, the king’s mistress, who fancied the ornate porcelain.

We looked at about 8 large cabinets full of Sevres porcelain.  The pieces included plates, cups & saucers, chamber pots, tureens, snuff boxes and cosmetic boxes.  All the pieces featured bright colors – not just cobalt blue, but turquoise, pink, green, etc. – with very rich gold trim.  I learned about a trembler cup and saucer, which has a well in the saucer with a built-up lip – to prevent the cup from slipping if you “trembled.”   Cups with a cover and a handle were called “pots a jus” by the French and were used for sauces/gravies; in England they were called “custard cups” and used for puddings.  The snuff boxes were very interesting: a couple in bed, dogs, sheep, a nun, fish.  Lots of tedious details. 

I could have taken pictures in the Ashmolean, but, alas, my camera batteries were dead.  Sorry.  If you know more about Sevres porcelain go to http://www.worthpoint.com/blog-entry/sevres-porcelain-fit-king   Do a search on Google Images to see examples of this beautiful china.  And if you want to buy some, just type in “Sevres” on eBay.  I saw some pieces as high as $59,000!