Lot #R051. Vintage Limoges Black and White Porcelain Chessboard

Description Limoges Black and White Porcelain Chess Board. Offered here is a very attractive Limoges Black and White Porcelain Chessboard. The board measures14-3/4″ overall, with 1-1/2″ squares. The Limoges logo is imprinted on the obverse. The Chessboard is in excellent condition for its age with some wear present on the edge trim accents. The chessboard dates to around 1850. A Short History of Limoges Porcelain Marco Polo was credited with the discovery of the ceramic substance called “Porcelain” during his voyage to China. China was the only means of import for porcelain until the end of the 17th century. In the early 18th century, Marquise de Pompadour began importing from china and manufacturing porcelain in France. ‘Manufacture De Sevres’ began near Paris and became the largest porcelain distributor in Europe. Originally, the white substance used to make the fine porcelain, referred to as Limoges, was discovered by a chemist’s wife in 1765 in hopes of being used as a soap. In St. Yrieixin, a town near Limoges, France, the substance was identified as a pure form of Kaolin. The soil of the area surrounding Limoges is rich in deposits of Kaolin and Feldspar. These are the essential ingredients for hard paste porcelain. In 1771, Limoges, one of the oldest towns in the French kingdom, rapidly began constructing manufacturing facilities with wood burning kilns for the production of fine porcelain. The name of the city of Limoges has become synonymous with the high quality porcelain products manufactured by those early companies. The hand painting and decorating of Limoges porcelain was done by factory approved artists.