Tag: fine porcelain

I experienced the fabulousness of fine porcelain first-hand when I visited the factories of Bernardaud in Limoges in 2016 and my respect for the material grew tremendously.

When I traveled by train to Bernardaud to visit their factories, I knew I would find beauty and history there—I had already found the patterns in the Ancienne Manufacture Royale (AMR) program on The Historic Table page of their website—and I was not wrong. The AMR was founded by Louis XVI in 1774 I learned as I read about the patterns in the program—designs for Louis XV, who bought the pattern in 1757 for everyday use at the Fontainebleau palace; Marie Antoinette; and Louis-Philippe, the last king of France who chose the Elysee pattern for his personal use at the Tuileries.

In a post foreshadowing my trip to Bernardaud, We’ll Never Be Royals, I use the words of the duc de Saint-Simon, who is known as one of the world’s great memoirists, to glean remarkable details about the actions and habits of the court during Louis XIV’s time, the last volume covering the years when Louis XV—the Sun King’s great grandson—was doted upon as a Prince of the blood. If you enjoy such rich descriptions of history, I have a number of posts under this tag so I hope you’ll stop by and read about other examples of fine porcelain.