Limoges

Limoges stands on the Vienne, a city shaped by the shrine and abbey of Saint Martial as well as the authority of its bishops. Its craftsmen made enamelled objects known across medieval Europe as the Work of Limoges. Coloured glass fused into copper decorated reliquaries, crosses and other sacred vessels, carrying the city's name far beyond the Limousin.

A different art of fire emerged in the eighteenth century. The discovery of kaolin at Saint-Yrieix in 1768 supplied an essential material for hard-paste porcelain. A small manufactory began production at Limoges, although its early years were difficult. Until the Revolution, porcelain production in the city remained confined to this single workshop. The white vessels made there would become another celebrated product of the city's workshops.