Monaco Revue -- The celebrity and lifestyle magazine with purpose

Social Diary by Candace Durocher

Sevres' fine porcelain at the Grimaldi Forum

It is what modern day entrepreneurs dream of, related David Cameo. In 1740, a group of local craftsmen from a factory at Chantilly banded together to create their own porcelain manufacturing business. The little start-up caught the attention of some powerful clients and investors, as powerful as the king himself. The orders poured in and the factory flourished. Later, Louis XV took over the entire operation and moved it to the Paris suburb that gave it its world-famous name, Sevres.

Cameo, current director of Sevres, is passionate in telling the story. "With this kind of history and over 100 of the finest craftsmen, how can you not be passionate?" he said

Cameo with Louise Bourgeois' "Nature Study," a porcelain sculpture covered in 300 grams of 24 carat gold, only two of which were made for sale, costing $250,000 each.

The factory survived the French Revolution because the craftsmen were themselves part of the uprising. Through Napoleon's reign, it was imperially-owned. In today's French Republic, the nationally-owned factory continues to preserve and transfer the know-how that has made its hand-crafted and hand-painted output prized among collectors.

Along with Sevres' deputy secretary general, Laurence Mayniere, Cameo was on hand this week (Dec 18, 2007) at the Grimaldi Forum to open an exhibition of some of the factory's exquisite pieces. Sevres continues its centuries-old tradition of working with important names on the contemporary art scene, and included in the display are sculptures by Louise Bourgeois and Ettore Sottsass.

The free exhibition is open from noon to 7 pm daily and continues until December 30.

Photos: © DP Inc.


Laurence Mayniere with a sculpture in porcelain and glass by Italy's Ettore Sottsass. It takes Sevres as long as two years to produce the sculpture to the designer's exacting standards, Mayniere explained.	Cameo (right) with his Monaco counterpart, Joram Rozewicz of Manufacture de Porcelaine de Monaco