Porcelain as Fine Art

A fine piece of Sevres porcelain fetched almost a million dollars at the end of 2011, when it was bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is such a huge amount of money for one item that the majority of people would not consider the prospect. On the other hand, beautiful original antique lithographs of the finest pieces of Sevres porcelain can be framed nicely, hung on the wall, and are not nearly as fragile when dusting. In a lounge or dining room, a group of framed porcelain lithographs definitely adds style - whether hung as a formal matching set, or an informal group of different styles of porcelain.

Earliest European Porcelain.

The manufacture of fine porcelain in Europe was not achieved until four hundred years after Portuguese and Dutch travellers first returned with Kaolin or ‘hard’ porcelain from China. In 1673 a potter of Rouen in France, Louis Poterat, created the first 'soft' porcelain. Poterat established Rouen as the centre of the French ceramic industry with the beautiful style of earthenware we call Faience.

Histoire des Faiences de Rouen (The History of the Faience Porcelain of Rouen) by Eugene Delaroque was published in Paris in 1870, to show the finest designs of the milky white translucent Faience, with its typical soft-coloured ornamentation of French-style foliated patterns, and designs in imitation of the old Chinese and Japanese porcelain. The colour-printed lithographs produced in Amiens by Ris-Paquot portray the opaque ivory-tinged colours of Faience beautifully. The patterns of blue and white, soft-toned red, blue and white, and those with the Asian-style decoration, are the most distinctive Faience styles.

Conversion of base metals to ‘gold’.

In Germany, the origin of soft porcelain is controversial. When it was rumoured that alchemist Johann Friederich Bottger was experimenting with converting base metals to gold, King Augustus II detained him in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. In 1704 Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus was appointed his controller and worked with Bottger. Instead of gold, in 1709 the first Dresden porcelain was manufactured. It is usually Bottger who is credited, though some believe documentation indicates Tschirnhaus was responsible. In any case, the King protectively established a factory inside the walls of Albrechtsburg castle in nearby Meissen.

The French have always been recognized for stylish objet d’art, but the popularity of Dresden porcelain from Saxony inspired the French to greater efforts in making finer porcelain. New factories sprang up around France – at Lille in 1711, Chantilly in 1725, and at Mennecy around 1735. The porcelain developed at Chantilly, with its finer enamel glaze, soon gained greatest recognition.

Gilles and Robert Dubois, duplicitous employees from Chantilly, persuaded the brother of the Comptroller-general of Finance in France, Orry de Fulvy, to establish a factory in 1738 at the old Chateau of Vincennes. Ignominious departure followed their unsuccessful endeavours, and fellow-worker Louis-Francois Gravant was left to develop the experiments of the brothers. In 1748, a new Comptroller-general of Finance, Count d’Arnouville, with intellectual benefactor, Louis XV’s mistress Madame de Pompadour, recommended Louis XV extend his patronage of the factory at Vincennes. In 1756 the factory was established at Sevres, between Paris and Versailles – closer to the royal residence.

Royal Porcelain of France.

Louis XV decreed that the soft porcelain of Sevres was Manufacture Royale de la Porcelaine de France, so it became known as the Royal Porcelain of France. The Director of the Academy of Sciences in Paris, Monsieur Jean Hellot, was appointed to manage closely all aspects of porcelain manufacture. Duplessis, a skilful artist and Court Jeweller, was commissioned to design the forms and supervise their creation. Painting and gilding was supervised by enamel painter, Mathieu, - and later by Bachelier. The result was the exquisite porcelain simply referred to as Sevres. During the twenty-year exclusive royal contract and monopoly in the production of fine porcelain in France, the deep colours and fine glazes from the Sevres factory established a reputation across Europe for the most superior of all porcelain.

Lithographs of Sevres Porcelain.

The luminosity of the rich colours and gilding of Sevres porcelain is beautifully represented in colour-printed lithographs by Claude Gillot. To illustrate the finest Sevres porcelain manufactured during the glory years of production in the 18th and 19th centuries 'The Soft Porcelain of Sevres' Le Porcelaine Tendre de Sevres by Edouard Garnier was published circa 1890 in Paris, London and New York. These are still the most magnificent illustrations ever done of porcelain. Hung on the wall with elegant framing these original antique prints can provide even greater impact than individual pieces of fragile porcelain, are less expensive, and easier to look after! You will find a great selection on our website at http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-24-porcelainartifacts.aspx

Rare French hand-coloured fashion stencils

Over the centuries Paris has established itself as the location of the finest fashion houses. Haute couture has been appreciated worldwide, and talented artists were employed in France to introduce the designers' fashions to the public. The Musée des Artes Decoratifs at the Louvre in Paris displays elegant illustrations by eminent fashion artists as well as actual costumes from previous eras.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, only the privileged could afford a subscription to an exclusive fashion magazine. The magazines were coveted, and their beautiful pochoir illustrations were framed and hung on walls. Pochoir, the French word for stencil, has been used worldwide since the French perfected this method of illustrating fashion in the Art Deco period early in the 20th century.

The first and rarest of the luxury periodicals that used the pochoir method of illustration was Journal des Dames et des Modes – Costumes Parisiens. AS it was only published between 1912 and 1914 these small gouache and watercoloured stencils are now rarely seen. Couturier Paul Poiret produced Costumes Parisiens for Journal des Dames et des Modes. Employing the finest fashion illustrators of the time, Poiret featured beautiful hand-coloured pochoir fashion plates, and included fashion notes and short sections of poetry to add to the appeal of the publication. Only 180 different images were produced. Each exquisitely drawn image required many different stencils to be cut for the finesse required in adding the layers the gouache and watercolour by hand.


Fashion artists included several artists who were also designers, including Umberto Brunelleschii and George Barbier. Barbier made his debut as a fashion designer during the few years this periodical was published. Charming pochoir illustrations were also contributed by Armand Vallée, Roger Broders, Etienne Drian, J. van Brock and other fine artists.   It is a shame that these wonderful little pochoir illustrations are rarely seen today.

Journal des Dames et des Modes - Costumes Parisiens established the style of presenting prominent designers' fashions in an appropriate setting. Each charming scene tells a story of elegant behaviour and privileged lifestyle. These delightful fashion illustrations captured the spirit of the era when they were painted. Many of the designs are still relevant today - and not as retro-fashion.

The rarely seen, delightful pochoir illustrations of Parisian fashion for Journal des Dames et des Modes – Costumes Parisiens are still treasured by people of all ages,  - particularly when framed and enjoyed on the wall. View and purchase online "24/7 at  http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/ or visit the Brisbane Antique Emporium, open daily from 10am to 5pm at 794 Sandgate Road Clayfield in Brisbane (entrance off Junction Road). Email sales@antiqueprintclub.com or phone 61 (0)7 5525 1363.

Strangely beautiful studies of Australian botany

Banksia, Curtis c1831

Early exploration revealed more than new countries. Wildlife from the "other end of the world" included animal shapes that were quite different from any seen in Europe, and a unique and strange beauty of botany - particularly in Australia. Natural history artists from Europe, travelling with early expeditions, carefully recorded specimens that were quite unlike any they had seen. Scientists who accompanied these voyages of exploration were commissioned with collecting seeds and specimens.

The first major records of Australian nature were made when the east coast of Australia was finally discovered and charted by James Cook in the Endeavour in 1770. Cook was accompanied by Sir Joseph Banks, and while some of the animals and birds from Cook's Voyage were published by Hawkesworth in 1773, the botanical discoveries remained largely unknown. Most of the amazing collection from this voyage was not published until many years later. Banks, who was mainly interested in botany, retained the majority of the botanical specimens in his own library. Banks bequeathed them to botanist Robert Brown, who subsequently presented them to the British Museum (now the Natural History Museum). Between 1980 and 1990 the engraved plates for "Bank's Florilegium" were finally restored by the British Museum for their initial publication. Many botanical specimens from Australia were illustrated and published first in France, as Napoleon Bonaparte encouraged scientific exploration and subsequent publication of their discoveries.

Calythrix, Curtis c1834

Following settlement of Australia in 1778, botanical specimens that were discovered were sent to Kew Gardens in England. From 1787, “in response... to solicitations for a work... (combining) Botany and Gardening”, William Curtis (Praefectus Hortis of Chelsea Physic Garden at Kew) began publishing "The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed" with hand-coloured copperplate engravings illustrating botanical specimens from around the world. Illustrations of botany (many with fine dissections of flowers) were accompanied by text describing the place where each specimen was found, and advice on cultivation in England. Some flora is found only in Australia - or New Holland at it was named by the Dutch.

"Curtis's Botanical Magazine" proved so successful that it has been published almost continuously, for over 222 years. It is now known as “The Kew Magazine”. The earliest copperplate engravings were published on hand-made paper and were hand-coloured with natural ochres (which last almost indefinitely - unlike modern printing inks). Part of their fascination is the finely engraved details of botanical dissections that were illustrated with each flower study. Printing processes changed over the years. Copperplates were replaced by more durable steel plates; and then images were then sketched onto a lithographic stone. When hand-colouring proved too slow and expensive, colour-printing followed. This process evolved into photo-lithography; and images are now published digitally.

Gastrolobium. Paxton c1838

During the hundreds of years since the first explorers arrived, many botanical artists have been fascinated by the beautiful forms and hardy nature of Australia's distinctive native plants. The artists have sometimes published their own work, but more often they were commissioned by a botanist or horticulturist, for a specific publication. Among the most colourful antique botanical illustrations are the hand-coloured aquatint engravings and lithographs for "Paxton's Magazine of Botany, and Register of Flowering Plants". Some of the finest hand-coloured engravings were by Benjamin Maund for "The Botanic Garden" and "The Botanist".

Ophiorrhiza. Bailey c1900

Nicely framed botanical studies are perennial favourites as artwork for the walls. The range of artistic styles has varied considerably over hundreds of years, providing us with a great choice. Original antique prints of Australian flora are available from http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-20-botanicalsfruit.aspx

Frederick Manson Bailey's "Flora of Queensland" was illustrated by simple, finely-detailed images circa 1899-1902. Most of these lithographs are by Frederick Elliott (who is better known for his maritime watercolours.) Printed on fine paper that has become brittle with age, these botanical illustrations are rarely seen today. We have some that have been hand-tinted by watercolour since publication. We also have for sale (not yet on our website) the set of seven books of "Flora of Queensland".

Hakea. Dorothy Gordon c1960

The Australian wildflower paintings of Dorothy Gordon (1930-1985) provide
a more artistic representation of Australian native flora, as well as being scientifically accurate. They were painted under the watchful eye of her husband, David Gordon (1899-2001), ‘the grand old man of Australia flora’, who was awarded the Order of Australia for services to horticulture and conservation. Dorothy Gordon watercolours are on view in the gallery at
Myall Park Botanic Garden, established by David Gordon at Glenmorgan
near Dalby on the Darling Downs west of Brisbane here in Australia.
A selection of watercolours by Dorothy Gordon have been reproduced
and are available from the Heritage Editions section of our website at http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-36-botanicalsfruit.aspx

La Perouse in L'Astrolabe and La Boussole

During the second half of the 18th century, a number of major expeditions to the Pacific by French and British explorers revealed previously unknown population settlements and their different customs. James Cook undoubtedly contributed the greatest discoveries, but French explorers also contributed greatly to western knowledge of the Pacific region.

The French Admiralty, supported by the King (Louis XVI), sent the distinguished naval commander and oceanographer, Jean-Francois de Galaup, Comte de La Perouse (1741-1788). He was to undertake a four year expedition to continue the exploration of the Pacific that had been so widely travelled by Captain Cook until his death in the Hawaiian Islands in 1779. Between 1785 and 1788 La Perouse sailed with two ships, the Boussole and the Astrolabe.

La Perouse travelled via Teneriffe, Brazil, Chile, Easter Island, and from the Spanish missions in California to the north-west coast and the Hawaiian Islands. He crossed the Pacific to the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Korea, and north to Tartary and Kamchatka. La Perouse sent despatches of discoveries as he travelled, so that news was received back in France. After receiving new instructions, the ships sailed south to the Samoan group of islands and on to Botany Bay in New South Wales, Australia.

La Perouse arrived at Botany Bay on 26th January 1788, just as Governor Phillip and the First Fleet were establishing the 

British settlement at Port Jackson. On 10th March La Perouse left to continue his travels, but was never heard from again. When no reports were received in France, the Government sent an expedition in search of La Perouse - during 1791, 1792, 1793, and 1794. The disappearance of La Perouse, 220 crew, and the French frigates Boussole and Astrolabe remained a mystery for nearly forty years.

Compiling the information and illustrations from the journals that La Perouse had sent back from their ports of call, in 1798 Voyage de La Perouse Autour du Monde (Voyage of La Perouse Around the World) was published as an account of his expedition. The charting of La Perouse, his discoveries of native settlements and their customs, as well as technical and graphic reports by the artists and scientists on board his ships provided a wealth of new information - particularly in the Pacific.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the voyages of discovery of new lands the other side of the world were so avidly followed back in Europe that they appeared in a number of publications of other explorers. Jules Sebastien Cesar Dumont d'Urville (1790-1842), was a French naval officer who combined engravings from the drawings by official expedition artist Louis Auguste de Sainson (1801-1887), with sketches and engravings from previous voyages. Voyages Pittoresque Autour du Monde (Picturesque Voyages Around the World) comprised "a general resume of the voyages of the discoveries of Magellan, Tasman, Dampier, Anson, Byron, Wallis, Carteret, Bougainville, Cook, LaPerouse, G. Bligh, Vancouver, D'Entrecasteaux, Wilson, Baudin, Flinders, Krunsenstern, Porter, Kotzebue, Freycinet, Bellinghausen, Basil Hall, Duperrey, Paulding, Dumont d'Urville, Lutke, Dillon, Laplace, Morrel, etc." It was published in Paris in 1834-1835, under the direction of d'Urville.

Rare early engravings of the intrepid explorers' discoveries in the Pacific are to be found on our website at http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-64-views-nzpngpacific.aspx

French Cartography - simply decorative

Unlike any other country (perhaps with the exception of England), there is a wide choice of decorative antique maps of the different counties or départements of France. http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-14-french-departments.aspx The French are unsurpassed in their artistic inclination. While the maps of Levasseur (featured in a previous Blog) are undoubtedly the most intricate and informative cartographic representation of any country, there were many other French mapmakers who produced elegant and informative maps of the départements of France - particularly during the 19th century.

The most imaginative of these were published in Paris circa 1834. Small maps of each department were drawn by Aristede-Michel Perrot and beautifully engraved by Blanchard. Each map showed a department surrounded by a composite of small illustrations of the region's produce and industry - sometimes presenting the map as drawn on the hide of an animal. [Aveyron, Perrot c1834]
Elegant maps by Lorrain were engraved by Dandeleux and Chullier for Atlas Departemental La France et ses Colonies published at Versailles circa 1836 by Andrieux and Barreswil. Charles Monin's maps published around the same time, concentrated on the geography of the department, but were still enhanced by a vignette of an important scene. In the 1870s, maps by Alexandre Vuillemin were strongly engraved and decorated by a cluster of vignettes of major towns, ancient ruins, coats of arms, and head studies of important historical, literary, or royal personages. [Nord, Vuillemin c1870]
Earlier maps, for example those for Atlas Historique et Geographique (Atlas of History and Geography) published in Paris circa 1770 by Louis Charles Desnos (1725-1805), were engraved by Cartographer Royal to the King of France, Brion de la Tour, and embellished by a simple cartouche (title piece) simply surrounded by representative scenery instead of the more usual cartouche scroll, but containing information about the history of the region and the mapmaker. [Les Gouvernemens de Poitou, de Berri, de Bourbonnois, et de Nivernois. Desnos, c1770] We have a wide selection of the departments of France, from the early17th century on. Select from our website at http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-14-french-departments.aspx 

French Cartography: Superb and Decorative

A French cartographer’s superb world map (Henri Chatelain, circa 1718).
Carte tres curieuse de la Mer du Sud, contenant des remarques nouvelles et tres utiles.. (Very curious map of the Southern Seas, containing new and very useful remarks..)

A very special map, this is one of the largest and most magnificent world maps ever produced. Created by Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743), a Huguenot pastor from Paris, assisted by his father and brother (both Zacharie Chatelain), for Chatelain’s "Atlas Historique, ou Nouvelle Introduction a l’Histoire, a la Chronologie et Moderne", published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720. Four large copperplate engravings were joined to create this superb map. The definition of the engraving is beautifully enhanced by the fine hand-colour, to provide a vivid narration of exploration, customs, and beliefs at that time.

The engraved coastlines were based on earlier charts by the eminent French cartographer Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726). Australia is a little mis-shapen and incomplete, but overall the map is relatively geographically correct for the time - except that it still shows California as an island which had been disproved by the date of publication, but is a fascinating concept. The strong definition of the engraving is beautifully enhanced by the fine hand-colour, to provide a vivid narration of exploration, customs, and beliefs at that time. 

The map shows Niagara Falls, a sugar mill, beavers building, bear hunting, turtle fishing, cod fish drying, other fauna and flora, native customs, the attack of Cortés on Veracruz, missionaries, explorers, medallion portraits, important islands, ports and town plans, ships on the sea, the commercial routes of the period, and explorers’ routes, with the names and routes of significant expeditions. With its absorbing and unusual engravings of cosmography, geography, history, genealogy, heraldry, portraits, topography, and regional costumes, accompanied by descriptions of regional activities, this map is a brilliant visual representation of discovery and commerce - particularly in the New World - prior to being fully and accurately charted.

This map is available as currently framed in conservation materials, or unframed for shipment. Further images are available if required. http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-3-americascanada.aspx

The engraved map measures approximately 32 inches x 56 inches (82 x 143 cm). 

French Cartography: Creatively Decorative..

French Département maps

Fortunately, an over-active imagination is not the only creative talent for which French cartographers are known. They are also famous for their ornate decoration. Some of the most elaborately decorated maps ever made are Victor Levasseur’s maps of the French départements.

A French engineer and geographer, Levasseur flourished as a mapmaker between 1838 and 1854. His département maps are easily recognisable. For his grand Atlas National Illustre, published in Paris circa 1854, he surrounded each département map with a beautifully engraved narrative of the region, including illustrations of produce, commerce, coats of arms, local landmarks, peasants in costume, historically important people and scrolls of statistics.One of the most beautiful of all his maps is this map of the department of Gironde published in Paris circa 1852. Vew it on our website at
http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/p-36-gironde-aquitaine-france-department-beautiful-antique-map-levasseur-c1852.aspx

French Cartography - Creativity of Coastlines..

There are few things as fascinating and evocative as an antique map. Unlike the highly functional maps of today, maps used to be decorative works of art, that not only portrayed a country's geography but also its culture and history.

In the case of many French mapmakers, the portrayal of a region on a map, was often an indication of where it was made! A number of French cartographers had a reputation for a fairly creative approach to the art of making maps. One of the best known examples of this kind of map (and the map that is probably best known in Australia), is undoubtedly the mid-18th century map by the Hydrographical Engineer of the French Navy, Hydrographer to the King, and member of the Royal Society of London, Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772). Bellin was commissioned by the King of France to survey all the known coastlines of the world. 

On his Cartes Reduite des Terres Australes (Reduced Chart of the Southern Lands) map of Australia (Nouvelle Hollande as it was then known) Bellin used a dotted line to join Tasmania to Vanuata (Espritu Santu) and Papua New Guinea.

His supposition 'followed European thought of the time' - 20 years before Captain Cook's discovery and charting of the east coast and named it New South Wales. At least Bellin printed along the wavy dotted line (in French) "I suppose that Van Diemen's Land could join with the Land of the Holy Ghost, but without proof.."  This will always be one of my favourite antique maps! http://www.antiqueprintclub.com/c-9-australianzng.aspx