Q&A With Romane Sarfati, CEO Of Sevres – Cite De La Ceramique, About Perpetuating The Art…

For the past six years, Romane Sarfati has been busy developing the Sèvres Manufacture and Museum on the outskirts of Paris, which combines the missions of porcelain creation and production with conservation and heritage enrichment. It’s a place where master craftsmen have been working hand in hand with visiting artists, designers and architects since its founding in 1740 until present day. Extending its influence worldwide, she aims to make this atypical public establishment in the French cultural landscape both a major international brand for creation and the main European research center in the arts of fire.

How did Sèvres come to be associated with porcelain?

It’s a long story that started in the 18^th century when European royal courts and aristocrats were very keen on porcelain and ceramics coming from Asia. At the time, the King of France, Louis XV, wanted to make his own porcelain so that French courts could have beautiful pieces just like the Asian and German ones because the German courts had found the secret of porcelain and could make their own beautiful pieces. It was a kind of artistic, economic and technical competition among the European courts. Louis XV invested a lot to have his own manufacture. It started in Vincennes, a small town near Paris, then moved to Sèvres. Why Sèvres? Because it’s exactly between Paris and Versailles, where the French court was at the time. In that way, the king and also the plutocrats on their way to Versailles could look at the workshops and buy their own porcelain.

Describe the Sèvres Manufacture design style and approach.

It’s very interesting because Sèvres has been working with contemporary artists since the beginning, so it is very much of its time. From the 18^th to the 21^st centuries, Sèvres has been a major actor of the artistic and decorative art scenes, so it means that there are many styles in Sèvres, but if we try to find some specific aspects, I would say it’s related to some of the materials and colors. Sèvres is very well known for its biscuit, wonderful white porcelain without enamel, the Bleu de Sèvres, this cobalt blue, and also for its gold. In the 18^th century, Sèvres was the only porcelain manufacture in France allowed to use gold, as it was a royal manufacture. Also, the main characteristics of Sèvres can be seen as contradictory. On one hand, Sèvres is very extravagant, especially in the 18^th century, because you had colors and shapes that nobody tried at the time, like the Vaisseau à Mât, which is a beautiful, extraordinary piece that was commissioned by Madame de Pompadour with different colors and the use of gold. On the other hand, Sèvres can be seen as very elegant with maybe more recent pieces that we made with contemporary designers like Michele de Lucchi or Ettore Sottsass, which are more minimal and well-balanced.

What are some of the preconceived notions surrounding porcelain that you’re trying to dispel?

For a long time until today, a lot of people think that porcelain is ancient and old-fashioned because they know it as older tableware. The first idea is to show that ceramic is used in different world cultures, from prehistoric times to now. Even if everybody knows about Greek vases, Chinese porcelain and pieces from Latin America, a lot of people don’t realize how important it is to show that ceramic is a universal material. This is what we show in our museum. The second point is that ceramic is not only used for tableware, vases or decorative art, but also to make any kind of art piece such as sculpture and furniture. That’s why we have a very large vision when we select our artists and designers; we don’t have one orientation. Our idea is to show the diversity of the artistic potential, which is very important for us as a public institution.