The French Porcelain Society is pleased to announce this year’s two-day symposium, entitled: ‘Saint-Cloud to Bernardaud: New Horizons in French Porcelain, 1690–2000’.
It will be chaired by Dr Aileen Dawson, former Curator, The British Museum, London, and will take place on 20–21 October 2017 at The Wallace Collection, London.
Deadline to send a proposal: Jun 15, 2017
The symposium will present new research on French porcelain factories outside royal or state control. At times unjustly neglected in favour of the royal manufactory at Sèvres, these earliest factories operated from the late seventeenth century; many continue in production today. They include, but are not limited, to Saint–Cloud, Villeroy, Mennecy, Niderviller, the Paris factories, such as Dihl, Schoelcher and Dagoty,
and Limoges factories operating during the 19th century and up to the present day. Subjects for consideration include: locations, size, capitalisation, techniques of manufacture, employment of artists and designers, marketing, and clientele, each deserving of greater scholarly attention.
The French Porcelain Society encourages networking between academic researchers and museum professionals. Proposals are welcomed from doctoral candidates in art history as well as curators, collectors, and researchers; we are also pleased to receive papers from colleagues working in literature, philosophy, and history. Speakers confirmed to date include Sonia Banting, Howard Coutts, Aileen Dawson, Virginie
Desrante, Nicole Duchon, Cyrille Froissart, Errol Manners, Audrey Gay-Mazuel, Hélène Huret, Tamara Préaud, and John Whitehead.
Themes for papers may include
• History of collecting (public and private) and connoisseurship
• Historical, political and socio-economic background to French porcelain production
• Design sources, production trends, fashion
• Cross-cultural influences
• Porcelain used as diplomatic gifts
• Domestic uses, tablewares and the history of dining
• Literary and theatrical themes, especially in figure production
• Porcelain as sculpture at Niderviller and other factories
• The art market
Papers should be between 20 and 50 minutes in length and fully illustrated. They may be presented in English or French. Please send a 300-word abstract with a short CV in the form of a PDF file to Aileen Dawson at aileendawson@hotmail.com by 15th June 2017.