Duc d'Angoulême Factory, Pair of Paris Porcelain Cachepots, Later Fitted with Floral Plants, 1800

Description:

Duc d'Angoulême's Factory, also known as Dihl and Guérhard (manufacturer/factory; French, 1781 - 1828)

Hard-paste porcelain factory established on 25 February 1781 in the rue de Bondy, Paris, by Christophe Dihl (1752-1830), Antoine Guérhard (d.1793) and his wife Louise-Françoise-Madeleine Croizé (1751-1831). Interlaced GA mark registered in November 1781, the second letter probably standing for the duc d'Angoulême (1775-1844) who became the factory's protector at an early stage, even though aged only five. Royal protection enabled the factory to make and sell coloured and gilt porcelain despite the monopoly granted to Sèvres in 1766. The factory moved to new premises in rue du Temple in 1789. It initially enjoyed considerable success and survived the Revolution, but financial problems necessitated large loans in 1807 and 1809. Eventually the business was wound up in 1828. Dihl died a ruined man in February 1830 and his wife - he married Guérhard's widow in 1797 - died in July 1831. The factory's products were of the highest quality.

source: Aileen Dawson, “French Porcelain - A Catalogue of the British Museum Collection” (London, 1994), pp. 356-358.