Louis XVI period Sèvres style vase
Second half of the 19th c. Paris (Samson). Porcelain, on-glaze decoration and enamel
The French Royal Porcelain Factory in Sèvres became the pre-eminent porcelain manufacturer in Europe in the second half of the 18th century. Its expensive products were characterised by bright colours, fine gilding and a high level of craftsmanship in painting. The 18th-century Sèvres porcelain was highly appreciated by 19th-century absolutist aristocrats all over Europe. This increased the prices of the authentic products on the art market, and gave rise to contemporary imitations of Sèvres porcelain.
The Mikkel Museum’s luxury vase in the style of Louis XVI was actually made by the famous French company Samson. The company produced high-quality copies and imitations of well-known European and Asian historical earthenware to fill orders from museums and collectors. The company’s founder Edme Samson (1810–1891) considered it very important to avoid fraud, and therefore he added contemporary details to the earthenware and always marked the products with his company’s sign. The next owner, however, discarded this honourable accuracy, and started copying the signs on the original earthenware. The vase displayed at this exhibition bears a mark similarity to the Sèvres sign (two crossed L-s) on its bottom.
Louis XVI period Sèvres style vase
Second half of the 19th c. Paris (Samson). Porcelain, on-glaze decoration and enamel
The French Royal Porcelain Factory in Sèvres became the pre-eminent porcelain manufacturer in Europe in the second half of the 18th century. Its expensive products were characterised by bright colours, fine gilding and a high level of craftsmanship in painting. The 18th-century Sèvres porcelain was highly appreciated by 19th-century absolutist aristocrats all over Europe. This increased the prices of the authentic products on the art market, and gave rise to contemporary imitations of Sèvres porcelain.
The Mikkel Museum’s luxury vase in the style of Louis XVI was actually made by the famous French company Samson. The company produced high-quality copies and imitations of well-known European and Asian historical earthenware to fill orders from museums and collectors. The company’s founder Edme Samson (1810–1891) considered it very important to avoid fraud, and therefore he added contemporary details to the earthenware and always marked the products with his company’s sign. The next owner, however, discarded this honourable accuracy, and started copying the signs on the original earthenware. The vase displayed at this exhibition bears a mark similarity to the Sèvres sign (two crossed L-s) on its bottom.
