Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-19
PRECIOUS PORCELAIN
SEVRES PLATES THAT ARE
WORTH $3.50 EACH.
Modern Business Methods Adopted by
Administration Of Famous
Kiln.
From the London Standard.

The administration of the famous porce-
lain factory at Sevres. weary OF watching
the prosperity of fraudulent imitators
while its own business. from the COM
mercial point Of view. at all events. Lam
guishes. has decided to place itself in d.
rect relations with the public. Hitherto
the purchase of modern work from the
most renowned of all the European kilns
has been a matter of some difficulty. with
the result that the annual turnover" has
fallen TO something less than 100000 francs
The Paris exhibition of 1900. however.
gave such FLIP to the trade that orders
equivalent to the output of five or six or
binary years were received. and 1t has at
last been realized that those who have
something to sell, even when II takes the
form or Seyres china. should try to deal
directly with the purchaser. retail shop
is. therefore. to be opened in Paris into
which the wealthy amateur may walk and
make his selection. without the trouble OF
journey to headquarters. This concession
TO the ways OF the modern world should
De assured Of success Enormous quanti-
ties OF imitation Sevres. well executed,
beautifully decorated and furnished with
the proper marks are sold every year al
prices which are probably little If at all
smaller than the state mandatory itself
would charge for the genuine article.
Artists in Forgery.
The collector of china speedily finds
usually by experience as painful to the
feelings as IT is injurious to the pocket
that to beware of limitations is the first
lesson he has to learn. Every great style,
every esteemed mark" has been copied
by men who are such consummate art
lists In forgery that even the elect are often
In doubt, and are sometimes actually taken
In. Dresden and Sevres have both suffered
grlevous things at the hands of the coun-
terfeiters, but the French national estab-
ilshment has been particularly unfortunate
In this respect. Its unique distinction and
the enormous prices commanded by the
products OF its best period have made it
We'll worth while to copy its designs. to
coloring
To reproduce exactly the exquisite tInts
obtained by the old pate tendre is a prac-
teal fmpossibility. since even the factory it
SELF mas forgotten how to do that: but the
more modern and durable, IL less artistic
pate dure Is more readily dealt with The
amateur collector. however constantly
hnds 1t extremely difficult to distinguish
between them. and fraud is thus simplified
Avowed copies of soft paste Sevres have
been made in the past by English firms Of
the highest reputation for their own origi-
nal work and without any thought of de-
ceit. yet these efforts are today much more
easily COMPOUNDED with the genuine article
than the modern French china excellent
as it is. which is deliberately intended TO
mislead.
Fine Clay and Silver.
The porcelain produced at Sevres is still
beautiful and charmingly decorated as
well being of high technical quality. but
the secret of the old soft paste" which
allowed of such exquisite effects of color is
no longer available. To make this paste
which is mixture of fine clay and slick
and other materials while hard paste"
iS ltslr of aI-ax- II
spar-is not enough. 1t must be a pure
white. The modern imita ton has grayisl
hue, whereas the white of old Sevres was
dazzling. Upon this fragile semi-trans-
parent porcelain the deliciously artificial
groups and figures and landscapes of
Boucher. Vatican. Lancret and Nanloo
We're painted, and the perfection Of the soft
paste at its best. which corresponds rough
ly to the reign of Nine. de Pompadour, en-
abled these pictures to blend with the
body in a manner which no other Euro
pean porcelain has ever rivaled. 1t is to
this circumstance and to the pure beauty
OF its delicate colors that Sevres owes its
fame.
To look upon the bleu de roi or rose du
Barri is an abiding delight, while the mod
ern chemist has never discovered any tint
more delicately translucent than Helbot's
bleu turquois. The Sevres factory traces
its origin back to 1140, but by 1863 its most
glorious period was over. and the more
unitarian hard-paSte ware took the place
of the delicate eggsheli porcelain, with lis
tender blues and soft reds, its dainty fig
ures artificial landscapes and classical
scenes which is now worth kings ram
som. The collection at Windsor has been
valued at s1O0OOO and a single plate of the
service. In 744 pieces, which was made for
Catherine II of Russia. commands about
ESQ in the auction room. he finest exam
pies however, never come into the market
They are national possessions. locked up in
museums and palaces, where even reVolu-
npWarlaSS a touch them.