Article Archive 2005
Capodimonte or Buen Retiro? Old Problems, New Conclusions
When I started my research on Neapolitan porcelains, over thirty years ago now, I erroneously believed that the production of the factory opened by Charles Bourbon at Capodimonte would not present any significant problem...
04 January, 2005
English Ceramics at the State Hermitage Museum
“I begin to have a reasonably good understanding of English, to which I devote three hours every day”, wrote Grand Duchess Yekaterina Alexeevna,1 formerly German Princess Sophia Frederika Augusta, to her trusted friend Sir Charles Hanbury–Williams in March 1757. Five years later, after a coup d’état deprived her husband, Russian Emperor Peter the Third, of his power, his crown, and then of his life, Yekaterina Alexeevna became Empress Catherine II (1762-1796), known to us today as Catherine the Great...
04 January, 2005
Table Tops from the Berlin Porcelain Manufactory (KPM) from the First Half of the 19th Century
The range of material used to make luxury furniture is almost limitless. This includes porcelain, which has been used to add a precious, decorative element to furniture since the end of the seventeenth century – if, at first, only to a limited degree..
04 January, 2005
The Samson House in Paris 1845-1980
In 1849, Edme Samson, a porcelain decorator who also worked in bronze, was working under the name of « Samson jeune » in the Temple district of Paris. Around 1864, he went into partnership with his son Emile and they subsequently took part in the international exhibitions held in Paris in 1867 and 1878. The critics were so impressed by their skill at imitation, that they warned collectors to be on their guard...
04 January, 2005
The Science of Early British Porcelain
Porcelain, a translucent, white ceramic, was first produced in China in the 6th century A.D..1 Europeans became aware of this exotic material through travellers such as Marco Polo, and early pieces of Chinese porcelain, known to have been imported into Europe, date from the 14th century...
04 January, 2005