National Gallery of Art - THE COLLECTION

Tour: French Renaissance Ceramics

Overview | Start Tour

image of Candlestick image of Cup on high foot with the royal arms of France crowned image of Salt
1 2 3
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Overview

The three objects in this tour are examples of "Saint-Porchaire" ware, one of the rarest and most mysterious of all types of Renaissance ceramics. Saint-Porchaire is recognized by its richly patterned layer of colorful paste decoration inlaid into a "clay skin"; its assembly from parts made through a variety of techniques such as molding, wheel-throwing, and hand modeling; and its uniform fine white clay that shrinks little in firing. Fewer than eighty examples are recorded, and the commonest forms are salt cellars, cups, ewers, and candlesticks, most in distinctive bizarre and fantastic designs. What is known is that a wide variety of techniques was used, the type of clay is found in relatively few places, and these ceramics were probably made by a single workshop.


Captions

1.
1French 16th Century, probably Saint-Porchaire (Deux-Sevres), or Paris region, Candlestick, c. 1547/1559
2French 16th Century, probably Saint-Porchaire (Deux-Sevres), or Paris region, Cup on high foot with the royal arms of France crowned, c. 1540/1560
3French 16th Century, probably Saint-Porchaire (Deux-Sevres), Salt, c. 1540/1560