Pierre Verlet, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, the Savonnerie, Office du Livre, 1982.
Pierre Kjellberg. Le Meuble français et européen du Moyen Age à nos jours. Les Editions de l’amateur.

At the beginning of the XVIIIth century, a great many faience works were created in the eastern part of France because gold and silver dishes were subject to a heavy tax: plates in precious metals were used to pay Louis XIV’s costly war expenditures. Even King Louis XV used his gold dishes to mint currency.
As a result faience dishes replaced and imitated these dishes in precious metals (1).

Faience made in Lunéville was famous well before 1718, to such an extent that in that year, the dealers of Rouen, leaders in the art of faience, wished to prohibit the sale of the wares made in Lunéville.

(1) People spoke of “putting oneself in faience”: gold or silver plates were melted or sold to buy faience.

The Portuguese initially brought it back from China and then sold it in many cities, among them Antwerp. The Netherlands was also supplied by Lisbon. However, when Philip I of Spain, at war with Holland, also became King of Portugal in 1580 and blocked trade between Portugal and the Netherlands, the Dutch shipowners decided to send their vessels to the Orient.

By attacking and capturing Portuguese ships (called “caracas” or “caraques” {carracks}), the Dutch appropriated products that could no longer be found on sale. It is likely that the porcelain requisitioned in this way owes its name of “caraque porcelain” to these ships.

Caraque or imported porcelain was purchased either directly from the East India shipowners or at auctions, fairs or shops by a constantly growing group of rich and powerful bourgeois who could afford this luxury and coveted it. According to the calculations of the English accountant Gregory King, the Dutch, at the end of the XVIIth century, had the highest average income in northern Europe.

At this period, sovereigns, wealthy shipowners and regents gathered precious collections of rare and exceptional art objects. These collections focused on “the natural,” i.e., objects produced by nature such as seashells or coral, and “the artificial,” products that were man-made.

These objects were exhibitied in rooms called “cabinets d’art” or art collection rooms. At the end of the XVIth century, Chinese porcelain already held a place of importance in the sovereigns’ collection rooms. They subsequently fitted out rooms especially for porcelain collections. Even though they no longer exist in Holland, we can still have a fairly accurate idea of these porcelain collection rooms in miniature through the Sara Rothé dollhouse found in the Gemeentemuseum, the municipal museum of The Hague, and especially thanks to the examples kept in Germany, such as the one in the Würzberg Residence.
Porcelain made in China for European commissions was called “commissioned China.” By adapting itself to the style of the period, the aesthetic quality and typically Chinese style of this porcelain was supplanted by forms and decorations tailored to its customers’ wishes.
As the demand for imported porcelain rapidly outstripped supply, Dutch potters went as far as imitating Chinese porcelain. The center of these activities was the city of Delft, advantageously located on the Schie, a river permitting navigable access to the rest of the country and abroad.
The production of Delft ceramics reached its apogee between about 1660 and 1725, a period during which the city was the most important faience production center in northern Europe. In the middle of the XVIIth century, the number of workshops went from eight to 288. Dutch ceramics became so refined that the faience makers called themselves “porcelain makers” to clearly distinguish this production from that of the coarser pottery they also manufactured.
Delft faience is still often called “Delft porcelain” today but, in truth, no genuine porcelain was ever produced for the simple reason that the faience makers did not have the kaolin needed for its manufacture. They imitated it by covering ordinary ceramics with a white tin enamel which, when subjected to the heat of the kiln, adhered to the pottery without melting. Starting in the mid-XVIIth century, in addition to blue porcelain, multicolored porcelain from China and Japan was imported that presented real technical challenges for the faience makers before they learned how to imitate them.
The production of and trade in Delft faience was of extraordinary scope. Its enormous influence could be seen in the number of faience works that were created in the southern provinces, Germany and France which, in their turn, imitated Delft faience. Toward the middle of the XVIIIth century, Delft’s reputation began to wane, supplanted by the competition of European porcelain which had at that period conquered the international market.

He lived in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, successfully making luxury furniture, which he lined with melted copper. His clients were members of the French and foreign aristocracy, including the Marquis de Graville who bought a “ chiffonière à la félicité ”, rising to an indented top, with three drawers, the last one serving as a book-rest. But he worked mainly for traders, supplying the cabinetmakers Migeon, Denizot, Moreau, Delorme and others.

He went bankrupt on 21 December 1789 as a result of the upheavals caused by the Revolution.

This cabinetmaker left his mark on pieces of furniture made with taste, which frequently stood out more for their elegant aspect than for their fine workmanship. The State collections have one of his mahogany commodes, now in the Palace of Fontainebleau.

Comte François de Salverte, “ Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle ”, published by Nobele, Paris, 1962.

He was a skilful and meticulous cabinetmaker. However his excessive drinking habits, which led his wife to ask for a separation, prevented him from making the most of his talents.

This master signed a fairly large number of works, several of which clearly disclose the technique of a foreigner. The most admirable piece bearing the stamp of Rübestück is a commode with a floral decoration, which was once part of the former Cronier collection and now belongs to Mr. George A. Kessler.

Comte François de Salverte, “ Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle ”, published by Nobele, Paris, 1962.

When he was still young, he entered the workshop of Jean François Oeben, the Cabinetmaker to the King at the Arsenal of Paris, where he was able to perfect his talents. On the death of Oeben, he became the head of the workshop and received his title of master on 23 January 1768. In July 1774, he became a Cabinetmaker in ordinary to the Royal Furniture Repository.

The next ten years were the most brilliant in the career of this artist. The accounts of the Royal Furniture Repository testify to the extraordinary popularity he enjoyed at the Court. He was also employed by the Comte and Comtesse de Provence, the Comte and Comtesse d’Artois, the Duc d’Orléans and the Duc de Penthièvre. All of high society acquired furniture from him.

He created numerous models, one more magnificent than the other, ornamented with bronzes, panels of porcelain or lacquer, or richly and harmonious inlaid compositions. All his pieces were made with materials of the highest quality.

Comte François de Salverte, “ Les ébénistes du XVIIe siècle ”, published by Nobele, Paris, 1965.

His establishments at Au Nom de Jésus, in Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, were extremely popular.

His stamp can be found on a large number of works that reveal his good taste and versatile talents. Early examples include splendid commodes in the curved shapes typical of the Louis XV style. One piece of this kind, richly decorated in floral marquetry, adorns the library of the town of Versailles. Under Louis XVI, Nicolas Petit produced mainly pieces of furniture in solid wood, sometimes decorated with panels of lacquer, Sèvres porcelain or Florentine mosaics.

Comte François de Salverte, “ Les ébénistes du XVIIIe siècle ”, published by Nobele, Paris, 1962.