B & C LIMOGES L.BERNARDAUD & Co FRANCE DEMITASSE TEA COFFEE CUP ANTIQUE

Description

VERY RARE AND ABSOLUTELY STUNNING FINE PORCELAIN DEMITASSE TEA/COFFEE CUP (NO SAUCER)
CONDITION: VERY GOOD USED ANTIQUE CONDITION, VERY MINIMAL GOLD TRIMMING LOSS ON THE HANDLE
THE CUP HAS GOLD OUTLINES, GOLD TRIMMING HANDLE AND FINE ROSES PATTERN
IT IS MARKED B&C FRANCE
MADE IN FRANCE BY B&C LEONARD BERNARDAUD
3 1/8" in DIAMETER AND 2 2/8 TALL
Bernardaud’s great industrial and artistic adventure began in 1863 in Limoges, a region possessing kaolin, fresh water and forests, which are all needed to make porcelain. And the adventure is ongoing!
In 1768, in Saint-Yrieix-La-Perche, a few dozen kilometers from Limoges, a woman discovered a very malleable type of white clay and decided to use it to bleach grease spots from her household linens. Later, experts would identify it as kaolin, one of the four ingredients used to make porcelain, along with feldspar powder, quartz and water. The Chinese had already been using kaolin for centuries to make porcelain that was remarkably robust, yet delicate with its own iridescent transparency. The saga of Limoges porcelain, in which the Manufacture Royale featured prominently, began in 1774.
The story began in 1863, when two industrialists from Limoges opened a factory to meet increased demand for porcelain dinnerware services, burning coal for fuel and shipping their product to market via the newly built railroad. At the workshop, an apprentice by the name of Léonard Bernardaud stood out from the others. Twenty years later, he was promoted to head of sales and the founders made him a partner. In 1900, Léonard bought them out and gave the company his name.
Léonard Bernardaud built up production capacity and opened up new markets, especially in the United States. He was succeeded by his sons Jacques and Michel, who survived the Great Depression and World War II by expanding the company’s collections, working with a number of artists.
The company started to produce on an industrial scale, but continued to work according to the high standards of a craft based on artisan techniques
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