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The Sèvres collection at the Musée de la Céramique is based on some one hundred pieces loaned to Rouen by the Manufacture de Sèvres in the last quarter of the 19th century. Three fine ensembles illustrate the late 19th century, design around 1900 and the period between the two World Wars. New forms borrowed from nature, flame patterns and crystalline glazes… the pieces in the Musée de Rouen provide a magnificent illustration of the renewal in ceramic art which breathed new life into the Manufacture at the end of the 19th century.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION

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Supplier by appointment to the French State Palaces, the Manufacture de Sèvres, protected by its official status, faced a storm of criticism in the 19th century, questioning its operations, even its very existence. The purveyor of diplomatic gifts, dinner services and decorative objects for a number of government departments, it also acted as consultant and technical adviser to the French manufacturers. Far-reaching reforms implemented in 1892 reaffirmed its role in education and information.  
The policy of loaning out both older and more contemporary pieces to provincial museums, which Sèvres operated systematically from that time, enabled it to show its most recent creations to a wider public and thereby legitimize its existence.

The Musée de Rouen received a particularly rich endowment with a number of allocations, the largest in 1884, 1901 and 1934. Some one hundred pieces, plus a group of small biscuitware busts sent in 1882 and 1883, form the Sèvres collection now on show at the Musée de la Céramique. Three fine ensembles illustrate the late 19th century, design around 1900 and the period between the two World Wars. New forms borrowed from nature, flame patterns and crystalline glazes... the Sèvres pieces in the Musée de Rouen provide a magnificent illustration of the renewal in ceramic art at the Manufacture inspired by directors such as Albert Carrier-Belleuse or Alexandre Sandier. The "Seasons" vase, a perfect  homage to the spirit of the 18th century, or the Ruhlmann vase, a superb example of 1930s design,  testify to the creativity and eccentricity of Sèvres at the turn of these two centuries. Finally, the piece by Arthur Massoule, Les Raisins, combines ceramics and sculpture in a spectacular fashion.