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Artist: Manufacture du Duc d'Angoulême (French, 1781-1828)
Rue de Bondy, Paris (1781-c.1790), later rue du Temple (1789-1828).
Hard-paste porcelain factory established on 25 February 1781 in the rue de Bondy, Paris, by Christophe Dihl, an expert colourist and modeller of German birth, (1752-1830), Antoine Guérhard (d.1793) who supplied the capital, and his wife Louise-Françoise-Madeleine Croizé (1751-1831) who ran the business side of the company. Interlaced GA mark registered in November 1781, the second letter probably standing for the duc d'Angoulême (1775-1844) who became the factory's protector at an early stage, even though aged only five. Royal protection enabled the factory to make and sell coloured and gilt porcelain despite the monopoly granted to Sèvres in 1766.
The factory moved to new premises in rue du Temple in 1789. Guérhard died in 1793, and the factory was henceforth run by Dihl with Guérhard's widow, whom he married in 1797. It enjoyed considerable success in the 1790s, rivalling Sèvres in quality, but the loss of export markets during the Continental blockade led to financial problems, and Dihl had to borrow large sums in 1807 and 1809. Eventually the business was wound up in 1828. Dihl died a ruined man in February 1830, and his wife died in July 1831.
All object images © LB Laub. Please do not use without permission.
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