Collection

Porcelain & Ceramics

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About this gallery

The French porcelain industry, anchored by the state-run Manufacture Imperiale de Sèvres, served as a vital tool for political propaganda, economic nationalism, and elite diplomacy, replacing royal ancien régime aesthetics with didactic imagery celebrating the Emperor’s military & triumphs and civil administration.

1802-1803

Sevres dessert plate 1802-1803

Sevres Manufacture Nationale
The first service ‘fond écaille’ (tortoiseshell-ground) was offered to Lord Liverpool, English Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the 10th Friday year 11 (December 1, 1802), and today is exhibited in the dining room of Lyme Park (Stockport, Cheshire).
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1806

Sevres platter ‘rond 10 pouces’ 1806

Sevres manufacture Imperiale
From the ‘gold frieze service with crowned N monogram’ for the Strasbourg palace. Under the returned Louis XVIII the N and imperial crown were removed.The service was purchased in October 1806 on behalf of the Emperor, and delivered to the Rohan palace in Strasbourg in December 1806
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1806

Sevres coffee cup & saucer 1806

Sevres Manufacture Imperiale
This cup & saucer, part of a larger cabaret service was offered in October 1806 to the Prince of Benevento, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of the marriage of Princess Stéphanie de Beauharnais and the Prince of Baden.
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1804/05

Sevres dessert plates 1804/05

Sevres manufacture imperiale
A yellow-ground dinner service with bouquets of flowers and a gold and colored frieze. The service was delivered by order of the Emperor on June 30, 1806, to Louis Philippe de Ségur, Grand Master of Ceremonies, on the occasion of the marriage of Princess Stéphanie de Beauharnais and the Prince of Baden.
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c.1810

Dagoty vase c.1810

Dagoty
Fuse vase in hard porcelain with two handles in the shape of palms with a bronze background and placed on the heads of dolphins in imitation of bronze.
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