Moulds and 'mother' moulds for a Florence cup

Limoges porcelain is renowned for its whites, produced with kaolin mined at Saint-Yrieix. One of the most widely used mass-fabrication techniques is slip casting. Ceramic slip or ‘barbotine’ (a fluid mixture of clay and water) is poured into a porous plaster mould. By capillarity, the water is drawn into the plaster and the barbotine is gradually deposited on the bottom of the mould. The piece is then removed from the mould and dried, and its components – handle, spout, etc. – are assembled before firing. A huge number of plaster moulds were necessary for mass production. First, a model is made, from which ‘mother’ moulds – imprints of either side of the first mould – are cast, from which the plaster production moulds are then made. Gérard, Dufraisseix & Cie, one of the most ancient companies in Limoges, and heir to the manufactory founded by François Alluaud in the late 18th century, is still in activity as Royal Limoges.