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Du Paquier's Porcelain: A Scientific Evaluation of the Materials

3,521 views · Published 19 October 2009 · 31:51 · Indexed 29 September 2026

Channel: The Met · 2009 · Education

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Learn more about the exhibition "Imperial Privilege: Vienna Porcelain of Du Paquier, 1718 - 44" on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art September 22, 2009 - March 21, 2010. http://tinyurl.com/yjmulcr

Listen to co-curators Jeffrey Munger and Meredith Chilton discuss the details of a delightful dessert table with culinary historian Ivan Day. http://tinyurl.com/yzrffny

Fired by Passion: Vienna Baroque Porcelain of Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier, the publication accompanying the exhibition, is available in The Met Store. http://tinyurl.com/ylxgqr9

Francesca Casadio, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Conservation Scientist at the Art Institute of Chicago, presents results of the technical analysis of a number of Du Paquier pieces. By studying certain pigments in the porcelain glazes, application techniques, and the clay components of the works of art, Casadio exposes a great attention to detail and a technological prowess of the artisans at work in the Du Paquier studio. The materials tell a story and are a source of inspiration for the scholars and the art historians to uncover the history of these work of art.  

A one-day symposium gathered leading international scholars to discuss a variety of topics related to the exhibition "Imperial Privilege: Vienna Porcelain of Du Paquier, 1718 - 44." The second porcelain factory in Europe able to make true porcelain in the manner of the Chinese was established in Vienna in 1718. Founded by Claudius Innocentius Du Paquier, the small porcelain enterprise developed a highly distinctive style that remained baroque in inspiration throughout the history of the factory, which was taken over by the state in 1744. Du Paquier produced a range of tablewares, decorative vases, and small-scale sculpture that found great popularity with the Hapsburg court and the Austrian nobility. This exhibition charts the history of the development of the Du Paquier factory, setting its production within the historic and cultural context of Vienna in the first half of the eighteenth century. The porcelain featured is drawn from both the Metropolitan Museum and the premier private collection of this material. 

The symposium and related exhibition are made possible by Eloise W. Martin and the Melinda and Paul Sullivan Foundation for the Decorative Arts.

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