‘Sèvres-mania’ and collaborative collecting networks

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between a rising mania for ‘old’ pâte-tendre Sèvres porcelain and a growing specialization in collecting practices during the 1830s in Paris and London. Using newly discovered archival evidence, it questions the idea that individuals make collecting histories, and instead posits the notion of collaboration in creating an art collection. It examines a series of interactions between collecting networks and prioritizes the process of collecting rather than the collection itself. This provides an opportunity to consider constructions of identity, class and gender, and also shines a light on the methods of acquisition and value structures of ‘old’ Sèvres and the market for it during this time. At its core, it proposes a collaborative paradigm of object and knowledge exchange between an art collector, the 2nd Earl of Lonsdale (1787–1872), his friend and agent Henry Broadwood (1793–1878) and the dealer Edward Holmes Baldock (1777–1845).