Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory

Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory

The Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory was founded in 1756 when the Vincennes porcelain factory in Vincennes, France, was transferred to a newly built factory at Sèvres. At the time of this relocation, the factory was privately administered, but, due to mounting debts related to the construction of the new factory, control over Sèvres was transferred to Louis XV and the French government. Sèvres’ ties to the royal family and aristocracy ensured that this social group would be the factory’s most enthusiastic patrons in the (pre-revolutionary) eighteenth century.

Throughout the eighteenth century, Sèvres was known as a trend-setter in porcelain and decorative arts, creating works that reflected developments in manufacturing technique and in the rococo and neoclassical styles.