Modernism and Historicism: A French State Gift of Sèvres in the Early 1920s

In tribute to the 1924 opening of San Francisco’s new art museum, a namesake and reduced replica of the Palace of the Legion of Honor in Paris, the French government sent a large group of Sèvres ceramics. The gift divides into three groups: Two big vases show the most difficult glazing techniques the factory had mastered; twenty-some cabinet-sized pieces show the most advanced fashion in design as of the early 1920s; finally, thirty-one biscuit sculptures, ranging from table-sized to very small, show a surprising range of subjects. Some are clearly appropriate to a war memorial and others to Franco-American friendship, but other selections are harder to understand. Even the obvious commemorative subjects involved meaningful expressive choices.

The Sèvres factory became a government agency early in its history, producing state gifts and public imagery and working in multiple styles for diverse audiences. This background helps to clarify some of the choices in the museum’s founding gift. Others benefit from a close look on their own terms.

Jeffrey Ruda is a Professor Emeritus of Art History at the University of California, Davis, where he served three terms as head of the Art History faculty. He is now on the Board of the American Ceramic Circle, where he serves as managing editor of the ACC Journal and a member of the Grants Committee.

Via Zoom

More information: https://www.cceramicsc.org/