Only about 70 pieces of Saint-Porchaire ware are known today. The material used to make them comes from the area around the small town of Saint-Porchaire in southwestern France, a region rich in kaolin, the white clay used to make these elaborately decorated vessels, which often combine inlaid decoration with applied forms. These sophisticated objects are often described in France as works of “earthenware goldsmithing.” They were produced for the royal family and other important patrons. In the nineteenth century, these rare objects were prized and avidly sought by collectors such as members of the Rothschild family.

Their technical and stylistic similarities suggest that they were made over a relatively short period of time (about 20 years) by a handful of craftsmen, either in Saint-Porchaire itself or, more likely, in Paris. The artists in charge of designing and producing are anonymous. A few pieces, however, have been connected to the ceramist Bernard Palissy, whose work is known for combining clay forms taken from molds of plants and creatures he studied.

The Frick owns three pieces of Saint-Porchaire ware, one acquired by Henry Clay Frick, another purchased in 2015, and the third more recently bequeathed by Alexis Gregory.