Sèvres - Cité de la céramique, National ceramics museum in Sèvres, France
Sèvres - Cité de la céramique is both a museum and a working factory, housing more than 50,000 ceramic pieces from different periods and regions around the world. The site combines exhibitions with an active workshop where craftspeople still create and produce work today.
The porcelain factory was founded in 1740 and moved to Sèvres in 1756, where it supplied French royalty and nobility. In 1759 it became state property and grew into France's leading ceramics producer.
The site shows how ceramics remain alive in French tradition today, with craftspeople passing their skills to contemporary artists working alongside them. You can see the connection between royal heritage and modern creation here.
The site is open year-round with both permanent displays and rotating exhibitions to explore. Visitors can enter workshops where craftspeople work and participate in classes to try ceramic techniques themselves.
Craftspeople here still produce porcelain using techniques from the 18th century, with some methods tracing directly back to the royal court's original processes. These work methods have barely changed and make each piece created today a link to that distant era.
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