Manufacture De Desprez - King Louis XVIII Medallion - Faceted Crystallo-ceramics Plate

Visible in Paris. Free hand delivery in the capital and its suburbs. Postage for France: 15€. Contact me for Europe and the rest of the world.

Manufacture of Desprez
medallion of King Louis XVIII
crystal-ceramics, "de la goutte" technique
Paris, circa 1820
Dimensions : D. 7,8 (cm.)

King Louis XVIII is depicted in bust form, towards the left. The work is of great finesse, with beautiful reliefs in the hair and textile. This crystal medallion is framed with gilded brass to great effect.
The origins of crystal-ceramics in the early 19th century
The rapid development of the crystal factories (Saint-Louis, Montcenis and Baccarat) was made possible by a favourable economic climate and a supply of excellent quality raw crystal, as demonstrated by certain exchanges with the Vonêche factory.
In the space of two decades, production capacity became absolutely enormous, and the objects produced became even more diversified. 
In addition, the European fashion for neoclassicism was evident in the mass distribution of copies of antique cameos, which were initially presented framed and were very popular. 
Saint Amand was responsible for the first attempts to include biscuit cameos in crystal. This know-how was twofold, since it involved mastering cameo sculpture as well as mastering the composition of biscuit dough and its firing. It takes around ten years to produce successful pieces. Most of the cameos depicted influential contemporary figures: the deposed Emperor, his wife, Louis XVIII, the Comte d'Artois, the Duc de Berry and his wife, and the Duchesse d'Angoulême.


Desprez, rue des Récollets
Desprez père (first name Barthélémy) was a brilliant engraver and moulder. He produced many cameos under the Empire and was mentioned at the 1806 exhibition of industrial products. It would appear that he was the supplier of the only Manufacture producing inlays under the Empire: Montcenis.
His son perfected the drop technique and inlaid the crystals in his workshop; along with Saint Amans, they were the only ones to master the entire process.

Condition report : 
Perfect condition of the medallion, associated frame

Bibliography : 
-Jacqueline du PASQUIER, 2005, "Des témoignages de la fveur royaliste, les
cristallo-cérames de la collection Jeanvrot", Revue de la société des amis du musée national de
céramique n°14, p55-66
-Fernando Montes de Oca "L'âge d'or du verre français" chapter dedicated to cameo inlays