Plate 1784

This plate was made at the Sèvres manufactory in France, using porcelain, glaze, and enamel paint. Porcelain requires both sophisticated material knowledge and immense skill to produce. A fine white clay is mixed, shaped, fired at extremely high temperature, glazed, and then fired again. Sèvres was one of the most important porcelain factories in Europe. They used molds and a division of labor to produce large quantities of luxury wares, though hand-painting meant no two pieces were exactly alike. The wares made here were luxury items, desired by elites. The abundance of detail, color, and gilding only adds to the effect, creating a surface of intense visual interest. The factory was eventually bought by Louis XV, and its production was highly influential, establishing French taste across Europe. So, while this plate may seem a purely decorative object, it is in fact deeply connected to larger social and economic systems. It reveals the politics of taste, labor, and consumption in eighteenth-century France.