The Secret of Colours

This book, which accompanies an exhibition at the Fondation Baur, explores the intriguing story of porcelain glaze at the end of the 18th century in China, in the 19th century in France, and in the work of two 20th century ceramic artists. Part one investigates the development of opaque glazes for use on porcelain and copper during the 18th century in work from three collections: Alfred Baur’s vast collection of imperial ceramics; the Canton glazes of the Zubov Foundation; and export porcelain from the Ariana Museum in Geneva. The second part begins in France, in the 19th century, at the Sèvres factory, tracing the various journeys to China to bring back samples of colour, analyse them chemically, and tirelessly attempt to reproduce them. The catalogue ends in the present, with the experiments conducted by the American-born artist Fance Franck (1927–2008) on “sacrificial red” and the work on colour carried out by the Austrian ceramist Thomas Bohle.

Text in English and French.