FRENCH PORCELAIN OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Of the Eighteenth Century

Known as "white gold," porcelain was among the most treasured discoveries in 18th-century France. From the banquet table to the boudoir, porcelain was welcomed into France's most venerated chateaus and estates, and found favor with Louis XV and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour. With their encouragement, the Royal Porcelain Manufacture at Sevres drew an incredible selection of alchemists, designers, and artisans from across Europe. The porcelain produced there was unparalleled in quality, design, and decoration. In this dazzling book, Christopher Maxwell explores the V&A's superb porcelain collection, now on exhibit in the new Ceramics Galleries.

Throughout the eighteenth century, France was a place of intense scientific enquiry and innovative research and one of the most exciting discoveries of the period was the successful manufacture of porcelain. Known as 'white gold', porcelain was produced for use in all aspects of fashionable public and private life; from banquets to boudoirs, from tea drinking to the toilette. Of all the factories in France, the most renowned was the Royal Porcelain Manufacture at Sevres. The protection of Louis XV and the patronage of his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, drew to Sevres the best alchemists, designers and artists in Europe. The porcelain they produced was unequalled in quality, design and decoration. This book explores the V&A's dazzling collection of French porcelain.