French Eighteenth-Century Porcelain
at the Wadsworth Atheneum

The J. Pierpont Morgan Collection

by Linda H. Roth and Clare Le Corbeiller


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Summary | Reviews | Authors |
Contents | Enquiries |
About J. Pierpont Morgan |

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The French Porcelain Society

Passion & Porcelain:
Pre-Revolutionary Ceramics
from the Wadsworth Atheneum
at the Gardiner Museum, Toronto

 French Eighteenth-Century Porcelain at the Wadsworth Atheneum The J. Pierpont Morgan Collection The jacket shows a tray (plateau Hebert à anses), Sèvres, 1759. Click here to look inside the book. Sample pages and index sample shown. Published by
The Trustees of the
Wadsworth Atheneum

 

416 pp.
12" × 9¼" (305 mm × 235 mm)
c. 100 colour pictures
c. 235 black and white illustrations
c. 400 marks and full index

ISBN 0 918333 16 4
Cloth-bound with jacket
$150 in North America and
£100 elsewhere

In North America obtainable from:

 The Wadsworth Atheneum:
600 Main Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06103-2990 USA.
Telephone: +1 860 278 2670 ext 3079
Facsimile: +1 860 527 0803
e-mail: Linda.Roth@wadsworthatheneum.org

or from:

any good bookseller (see Stockists)

Elsewhere obtainable from:

 John Adamson:
90 Hertford Street, Cambridge CB4 3AQ United Kingdom.
Telephone: +44 1223 313 717
Facsimile: +44 1223 313 717
e-mail: jpap@netcomuk.co.uk

or from:

any good bookseller (see Stockists)

Summary

One of the most prized segments of the Wadsworth Atheneum’s permanent collection is the large group of French eighteenth-century porcelain, much of it bequeathed by the renowned collector J. Pierpont Morgan. More than 250 individual pieces from the manufactories of Saint-Cloud, Chantilly, Villeroy-Mennecy, Vincennes and Sèvres are now published in full for the first time. Extensive research by the authors has resulted in important new insights into this impressive collection and significantly advances our knowledge of French porcelain. The entries cover the history of all the objects, their form, usage, and decoration. Scholarly commentary is provided on their dating, style, decorators, and historical context. The porcelain has been arranged chronologically by type within each manufactory. An introductory essay recounts the part played by J. Pierpont Morgan in acquiring the porcelain and other French decorative arts at the beginning of the twentieth century. The glossary of terms and techniques and the full index add to the accessibility of the text.

 

“Without any doubt, the quality and richness of the Wadsworth Atheneum’s collection of Sèvres porcelain warrant the publication of this thorough and scholarly catalogue. Making full use of the extensive primary resource material held at the Sèvres Manufactory, Linda Roth reconstructs the history of each of the pieces in the collection, slotting them once more into the Manufactory’s production, as well as into the broader history of French eighteenth-century art they so well exemplify.”
                                                                                                                                                  Tamara Préaud, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, Sèvres

“The Wadsworth Atheneum’s famous collection of Vincennes-Sèvres porcelain has somewhat overshadowed the museum’s exceptional holdings of early French soft-paste porcelain from the ‘smaller’ factories of Saint-Cloud, Chantilly, and Villeroy-Mennecy. As the most revered scholar in this field in America, and emeritus curator of the finest collection in the country, Clare Le Corbeiller was ideally suited to studying in depth both the stunning masterpieces and the more elusive productions of these early factories. Her encyclopaedic knowledge of the decorative arts and of French eighteenth-century lifestyle has given her an understanding equal to none which permeates every catalogue entry on this wonderfully varied collection, a lasting tribute to the taste and foresight of J. Pierpont Morgan as a collector.”
                                                                                                                                                  Bernard Dragesco, Dragesco-Cramoisan, Paris

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Reviews

“This splendidly produced scholarly catalogue ... is a major contribution to the subject and to our understanding of the collecting of French porcelain in the United States during the last century... The illustrations are well-presented and include drawings for shapes as well as photographs of plaster models, both provided by the factory archive, and of engraved sources for painted decoration. Incised and painted marks are clearly reproduced.

“The discussion is particularly thorough and sets a new benchmark for the cataloguing of porcelain in North American collections.

“... an up-to-date and indispensable aid to the study of French porcelain.”
                                                                                                                                                  Aileen Dawson, Apollo

“a mine of information for the specialist, and an attractive introduction to the subject for the general public, as well as a fascinating commentary on collections and collecting past and present.”
                                                                                                                                                  Howard Couttes, The Art Newspaper

“a full glossary of technical and descriptive terms, a comparative table of old and current names, a list of manuscript sources and a bibliography complete this remarkable volume which, thanks to its elegant layout and high-quality images, is as enjoyable to read as it is rich in information.”
                                                                                                                                                  Tamara Préaud, The Burlington Magazine

“Il risultato di una tale abbondanza di documenti e di confronti appropriati è la grande precisione delle attribuzioni e delle cronologie proposte per i diversi esemplari della raccolta. La qualità, spesso molto sostenuta, della collezione non fa altro che aumentare l’interesse per il volume che costituisce un importante contributo alla conoscenza della porcellana francese settecentesca.”
                                                                                                                                                  Luca Melegati, Il Giornale dell’Arte

“L’importante collection de porcelaines françaises du XVIIIème siècle du Wadsworth Atheneum à Hartford, Connecticut, est l’une des richesses les plus remarquables des collections permanentes de ce musée. Elle provient pour l’essentiel du legs d’un collectionneur réputé, J. Pierpont Morgan. L’ouvrage (en langue anglaise) présente plus de 250 pièces de Saint Cloud, Chantilly, Villeroy-Mennecy, Vincennes et Sèvres. Les travaux des auteurs donnent un éclairage nouveau aux pièces de cette collection et permettent de progresser dans la connaissance de la porcelaine française, tant pour la manufacture de Sèvres que pour les autres manufactures de porcelaine.”
                                                                                                                                                   Société des Amis du Musée National de Céramique

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The Authors

LINDA H. ROTH is the Charles C. and Eleanor Lamont Cunningham Curator of European Decorative Arts, The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut.

CLARE LE CORBEILLER is Curator Emeritus of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum, New York.

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Contents

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Enquiries

Contact the Wadsworth Atheneum for further information by e-mail: Linda.Roth@wadsworthatheneum.org,
or by letter or telephone: +1 860 278 2670 ext 3079.

How to order the book offline from the Wadsworth Atheneum or John Adamson

Please print off the order form and send it by fax or mail to the Wadsworth Atheneum for North American orders
or to John Adamson for orders for elsewhere.

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