Customer Reviews

Vincennes and Sevres Porcelain: Catalogue of the Collections. The J. Paul Getty Museum

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This catalogue, first published in 1991, documents the collection of Vincennes and Sevres porcelain in the Getty Museum. There are 40 entries describing items such as bowls, vases, wine coolers,plaques as well as a number of cups and saucers. These items were initially collected by J.P. Getty and later by Gillian Watson. A number of pieces have impressive provenances such as the Rothschild family, the Marquise de Pompadour and Louis XVI.

While the collection (at time of publication) was limited in number, the quality of the pieces appear exceptional. The pleasure of examining this book is greatly enhanced by the superb clarity and accuracy of the color reproductions and printing quality in general.Each item of porcelain is thoroughly described by Adrian Sassoon. This luxurious product is strongly recommended for porcelain enthusiasts.

This is a nice book but color has gotten cheaper since 1992. The best source is French Porcelain: In the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen - 3 volumes (Three Volume Set), 1312 pages, $726-1000. Or pay about $25 for a fabulous sampling in French Porcelain for English Palaces. Lots (almost every page) of full page color photos with additional closeups. The variety of colors and styles (vases, plates, pot-pourri, cup and saucers, serving items, and a few plaques and figurines) will wow you. I have looked at some of the dedicated Sevres books which have more items, but they do not show the details like this book. I enjoy getting close up to items displayed in museums to appreciate the talent of the artists. This book is one of the few that does that for me. I usually prefer to buy once a book has begun to drop in price, but I do not think this will be the case because of the publisher (Royal Collection Publications) and because it is the poor man's edition of the expensive set. George IV preferred bright colors with a lot of gilding and painted scenes. He wanted the best that Sevres could produce and he succeeded in acquiring it between 1783-1830. I can't imagine a porcelain lover being disappointed in this book.

I found this books quality of presentation and materials to be of a very high level. The pictures of Vincennes and Sevres pieces are of excellent clarity and quality. The description of each item goes into great detail and covers from two and sometimes 4 pages with Bibliography and Provenance paragraphs for each item. The book gives one an incite and the time to study these wonderful pieces of porcelain art to a degree that is in many ways superior to actually visiting the Museum where they are held. I was very pleased with the purchase