Pompadour and the Lure of Sevres

Amongst the many beautiful and exquisitely singular things that Madame de Pompadour liked to acquire and collect wore finely crafted porcelains, she adored them and took a profound interest in them which lead to her lifelong connection with the legendary Sevres porcelain manufacture which she helped establish and perfect; by having the talented but struggling 'then called'  Vinvennes factory moved to Sevres, closer to Versailles and even closer to her Bellevue country house estate recently bought for her by the king. This way she would keep a closer watch over her  new favoured porcelain factory.                                                                                  In its early days Vincennes factory gained popularity by making perfumed porcelain flowers, painted to look as close to the real thing as possible, they were relatively easy to make and became an instant best seller, the newly made Madame de Pompadour, with her deep love for flowers adored these and as the legend goes filled her gardens with them, intermixing with real blossoms, and inviting the King to view her beautiful gardens fooling and impressing him with its artistic realism.    

During the first half of the eighteenth century Meissen porcelains in Dresden were unrivalled it was one of wonders of Saxony, very profitable it was refereed to as the 'white gold' of Meissen, it certainly was beyond compare and none of the French porcelain manufactures  could even hope to rival with anything Meissen had to offer. This proclaimed 'white gold' of Meissen was even used in skill-full diplomacy, buttering up diplomatic relationships, links, conducting discreet and eloquent maneuverings with presents of porcelain of unquestionable grandeur and ostentatious elegance designed to seduce the hearts of kings and rulers into signing treaties or keeping good relations for the future.

A Sevres Clock for Pompadour's Chateau
de Menars, 1762.

With Sevres, Madame de Pompadour sought create a potential rival and succeeded. Once she got the King interested in the factory he not only had it moved to Sevres but in 1756 bestowed upon it the title of  'Royal' manufacture.  During this period Madame de Pompadour greatly influenced the style and taste of Sevres, after all, she did make sure that the best artists and sculptors like Boucher, Etienne-Maurice Falconet, Jean-Claude Duplessis would contribute with their talents to this unswervingly growing in fame manufacture.

Famously Sevres/Vinvennes invented some stunningly, vibrant, ground colours; there was a pink called Rose Pompadour, a deep Royal blue called Bleu Lapis, Bleu Celeste now known as turquoise and a green colour.

Madame de Pompadour, was of course one of its leading customers, she gave them important commissions which she know would attract more attention and customers, no matter how stiffly high the prices were. Good quality requires grand prices and at Vincennes and later Sevres they certainly were grand. Pot pourri vases which were immensely successful from the 1750s onwards were regarded was being thoroughly expensive, the famous 'Pot Pourri Pompadour'  could cost as much as 216 livres and frequently it reached well over 300 livres. In 1761, Madame de Pompadour bill for Sevres porcelains amounted too 26,172 livres, the king came close behind with 23,034 livres spent on his pick of king-worthy porcelains. Madame de Pompadour regarded purchases at Sevres as patriotic acts, she was supporting French manufacture making it grow financially and adding to its worldly prestige, in short, making it into a national treasure and wanted others to do the same. At Christmas in 1754 showy new creations of Sevres were displayed at Versailles, in the Kings private apartments, with enthusiasm the King participated in the sales, sometimes taking the role of a salesman himself, courtiers who wanted to show there support had to buy, buy buy as the King and Madame de Pompadour liked to see them do so; show how patriotic they are.

Pot-Pourri, belonged to Madame de Pompadour,
1760.

In 1753, Madame de Pompadour in tune with the growing successes of Vincennes, sent ...To Dresden, most likely to the French ambassador there to advertise what the famed French porcelain manufacture was capable off creating. Much like before when everyone sought to copy of Meissen design, now Sevres was being copied all over Europe as well. Louis XV got into habit of sending fashionable and magnificently decorated Sevres dinnerware as tempting and tantalising gifts for his own diplomatic maneuverings, some were presented to Maria Theresa in 1758, this of course greatly uplifted Sevres already impeccable standing, and the factories recognition spread throughout Europe.
During the Seven Years War, Sevres also produced some superb Toilette Sets delicately decorated with rococo motifs and patterns of flowers. Many beautiful silver Toilette Sets were melted, including one belonging to Madame de Pompadour, to help out the war efforts.



 

The Fabulous and Brilliant Salon Hostess Marquise du Deffand

In 18th century France, fashionable and exclusive Salons flourished with wit and learning, enlightened ideas, engrossing debates which put to question everything in their society, and interestingly many of the most celebrated salons were lead by witty, fashionable and cultured grand dames, some of very notable social standings others more modest. So long you had the money, the wits and the talent for entertaining, salons allowed its hostesses to shine and sparkle in the fashionable delightfully opulent Parisian society, and one of its brightest stars was Marquise du Deffand.

Marquise du Deffand

"What would I give to be able to make my appearance for one quarter of an hour, at those suppers, which I so greatly enjoyed!" - Montesquieu, June, 1741

"It would be needles to tell you, that when you either speak to, or of others, no one can equal you, either in point or intelligence or of sagacity' - Mr. Saladin, July, 1750

"You can never be forgotten, Madam, by those who have ever had the honour of ranking among your acquaintance: this i must entreat you would consider as matter of fact; since, for my own part, i shall ever reckon the hours I spent in your company, among the happiest of my life" - Count de Bernstoff, May, 1751  

A true original of her period the marquise was said to have shocked the nuns at her convent school who simply did not know what to do with a girl so sceptical,  so indifferent to their religious teaching and who so enjoyed voicing her shocking beliefs and opinions. Out of the convent she was never to show much if any interest in religion but her lavish education made her a brilliant conversationalist and she read with relish all the new novels and intellectual works. She was reputed to have been beautiful she loved being in the limelight and was always seen in the company of the most fascinating people. It rather was natural that she should become hostess to one of the most exclusive and sought-after salons of her day. She usually organised evening parties or sometimes very select suppers where the art of conversation blossomed in its full glory. People visiting Paris sought to be acquainted to her in the hopes that they would be amongst those lucky enough to be invited.

Amongst her many admirers was Voltaire, President Hanault Monsieur de Formont, and the great English collector Horace Walpole who was her frequent corespondent. Unfortunately her her due to financial troubles she was forced to recide at a convent  of St Joseph, where she rented out some comfortable rooms and lived for the rest of her life. She did not become pious or god-fearing, that was simply not in her nature, she did not let her new circumstances let her down in fact she lived as she did always, going out and conducted her salon except now it was in her rooms at St Joseph's. Some of her contemporaries or former friends noted that she was quite big-headed, vein, and jealous, incapable of loving anything more then she loved herself, but somehow that just makes her so much more interesting to me. She was tragic too, she never had a very good vision and it worsened rapidly in her later years leading her to become close to the lovely but poor  Julie de Laspinasse who being ever so charming and so very agreeable helped Deffand to entertained her guests, a task she now found difficult because of her eyesight. The young girl in turn gained many admirers from the circle of her new benefactress friends, and in order to spend more time with de Laspinasse, the  guests began the habit of coming an hour early without Mme du Deffand knowing just so they could spend some time with their charming new friend. A jealous range erupted when du Deffand discovered this she denounced her poor helper friend as 'serpant in her busam' and considered herself wronged by her friends. This lead to a serious rift between her and some of her friends most notably D'Alembert, who refused to abandon Julie de Laspinasse with whom he was seriously infatuated. She was settled in, comfortably in a new apartment furnished and decorated by her generous friends where she began her own salon. Madame de Deffand lived until the age of eighty-four dying in 1780.