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Capodimonte Limited - About Us

Capodimonte Limited endeavours to bring you only the finest quality Italian porcelain together with excellent customer service.

Capodimonte Limited - Raison d'Etre

Capodimonte Limited has been created with the purpose of popularising and providing , worldwide, only the finest quality Italian and Capodimonte porcelain figurines and china from carefully selected Italian porcelain manufacturers. The Capodimonte logo, the Crown and Neapolitan N, was originally painted or impressed on porcelain and ceramics produced at the Royal Factory in Naples from 1759 to 1780 and was synonymous with the finest quality Neapolitan porcelain and ceramics from that period onwards. However, the Capodimonte logo, in the present day, is not necessarily a guarantee of porcelain or ceramic quality. Neither is it a guarantee that the product is in fact porcelain or ceramic.

Capodimonte Limited has selected only the finest Italian porcelain productions from the leading Italian porcelain factories who reexpress the art of creating Capodimonte porcelain figurines and floral displays in the style and quality of the original Capodimonte porcelain production of the Royal Factory in Naples in the eighteenth century, and which today no longer exists.

Repairing Porcelain

Below we include several texts which indicate methods for repairing porclain.

Porcelain - Its substance and peculiarity

Porcelain is a hard white translucent ceramic which has been baked to the ultimate degree of compactness. When sounded acoustically it generates an even ring. Porcelain was first recognised in China at the time of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and is formed from the fusion of Kaolin, a brilliant white unmeltable alumnium hydrosilicate, and soft feldspar from petuntse (white quartz), at a temperature of between 1300-1400 degrees Celsius. Porcelain exists in two forms known as hard paste and soft paste porcelain respectively. The European hard paste variety was discovered by the alchemist Johann Bottger and closely resembles Chinese porcelain. As a consequence of  Bottger's discovery, Augustus II of Poland founded the Meissen factory in 1710.

Soft paste porcelain first rose  to prominence in Florence between 1575 and 1597 when the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco de Medici, created a small but highly prolific production known as " Medici Porcelain". The French were also champions of this variety where there are records of productions in St. Cloud in 1670, Rouen in 1673, and Sèvres from 1756 to 1768. The latter, soft paste Sèvres porcelain, was made from a mixture of vitreous limestone and white clay combined with other substances producing a whitish opaque substance which was subsequently baked at up to 1100 degrees Celsius.

The manufacture of soft paste porcelain is generally longer and more complicated than the hard paste variety as there are a greater number of secondary substances involved in its composition. Soft paste porcelain is also more difficult to work as it is more delicate and has a lower index of cohesion than the hard paste variety. In addition, items finished in the soft paste porcelain are more fragile, their glazing being more prone to cracking, than hard paste porcelain.

However, objects produced in soft paste porcelain are generally much warmer and richer in appearance, there being a much broader range of colours with which they can be decorated.

The production of a typical item in porcelain involves the initial modelling of the object in the porcelain clay paste. It is then dried at a uniform temperature in a furnace. Once dry the item is smoothed off or finished prior to coating with a glaze  via immersion in a special bath. For soft paste porcelain the glaze solution is either a lead silicate, sulphate, or oxide, whereas a feldspar base solution is used for hard paste porcelain. The object is then fired in a furnace to bind the glaze to the porcelain, soft paste porcelain is glazed at about 1100 degrees Celsius  whereas hard paste porcelain is glazed at between 1300 and 1400 degrees Celsius.

The glaze is white if mixed with tin, or it can be uniformly coloured. The colour range, however, is relatively limited due to the high temperatures involved in the glazing. Further colouring of the porcelain involves the successive application of different mineral oxides. Cobalt oxide is used for blue, iron oxide for green or brown and copper oxide for red or violet decoration. In the application  of each colour the porcelain is placed in a refractory cabinet at the temperature associated with  the melting point of the respective oxide.The melting points of  all oxides  are lower than the temperature of the initial glazing and the sequence of application of each   colour  is in the descending order of  the melting points of each of the respective oxides. The final firing is associated with the colours and decorations which have the lowest melting point.

Another technique which was used in Germany and Holland in the second quarter of the 19th century involves the application of cold laquers. This was especially suitable for large objects, where it was feared that they could not withstand a third firing without being damaged. This process of a third firing was eventually eliminated for this reason.

A special production known as "Bisquit" was very fashionable in the second half of the 18th century and also in the 19th and 20th centuries. It   involves compositions of figures or groups which are not glazed and have a soft white or opaque appearance. This technique originated in Sèvres and later spread throughout Europe.

The Origin and History of Porcelain in Europe

Porcelain was first recognised in China at the time of the Tang dynasty, (618-907), and for this reason also has the synonym "china". It was Marco Polo who brought back the first example, a small white porcelain vase, on his return to Italy in 1295. This now resides in the San Marco Treasury. The origin of the word "porcelain" is said to stem from its resemblance to little white sea-shells, reminiscent in shape and colour of little pigs or "porcella", which were used as currency in the Far East.

Effectively, from the beginning of the 15th century onwards porcelain was considered as a valuable and luxurious material by the nobility and wealthy of the day and was bought from the merchants of Genoa, Pisa, Venice and Portugal. This prestige was also due to the mystery associated with its fabrication, remaining  secret up until the 15th century.

The first major breakthrough in porcelain production took place in Florence under Francesco de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, from 1575 to 1597, using a furnace designed by Bountalenti and Fontana. A soft paste porcelain was produced, the production becoming known as "Medici Porcelain". However, a production of   a quality on a par with the Chinese variety was not developed until 1708 when the physicist and chemist Von Tschirnhauser and the alchemist Johann Bottger succeeded in developing a hard paste porcelain. As a consequence of this discovery Augustus II, King of Poland, founded the first European hard paste porcelain factory at Meissen in 1710.

For almost ten years the formula for this poreclain remained a jealously guarded secret within the confines of  the walls of the Abbrechtsburg Castle. Thereafter  productions sprang up in Vienna, Venice and France. At that time the discovery and zeal for porcelain ran parallel with the appetites and flagrant and audacious moods in society of the 18th and 19th centuries. The desire for the exotic : tea, coffee and chocolate, in turn nurtured the need for new suitable receptacles which were realised in this new exotic material, porcelain.

From 1725 to 1740 the Meissen production included handpainted tables and the first important figurines were issued towards 1735. The most accomplished in terms of artistic expression were those of Kandler who was active from 1731 to 1765. Groups and figures of  the first half of the 18th century found their inspiration in paintings by Watteau, Lancret and Chardin . The passion for vases initially originated in emulations of the Japanese and Chinese varieties which were then superseded by Rococo art.

The figurines produced in the 19th century, however, represented an entirely new art form. They took their themes and subjects from contempoary painting, gallant subjects and characters from the theatre of the Commedia dell'Arte. The collection of porcelain, which was originally the preserve of  the Court, became emulated by the nobility and affluent and  porcelain production became further stimulated by the needs and desires of the higher echelons of society.

The development of porcelain production owes much to various persona, not least Augustus II of Poland, but also to Madame de Pompadour in France,  a favourite of King Louis XV, who influenced the decoration of French Porcelain with her own style. It was due to her particular intervention that the old French porcelain factory at the Chateau at Vicennes was transferred to Sèvres.

Both the Sèvres and Meissen factories share the honour of having the oldest continous working life.

A further important royal patron of porcelain was Charles of Bourbon, King of Naples, who became Charles III King of Spain in 1759. His wife was Queen Maria Amalia, daughter of Augustus III of Poland and grandaughter of Augustus II of Poland (Augustus the Strong), founder of  Meissen. On Charles' ascent to the Spanish throne the original porcelain factory, which had been built in the Royal Palace of Capodimonte, was demolished, and all artists and materials were transferred to Spain where a new porcelain production was created at the Castello of Buen Ritiro near Madrid.

Thereafter,Charles' son Ferdinand IV continued his father's tradition in Naples, with a new factory which started production in 1771 at Portici.

Other important Italian factories include the third oldest European factory founded in Venice in 1720 by Giovanni Vezzi but which closed after a relatively brief life in 1727 due to financial problems. Also the hard paste porcelain factory at Vinovo near Turin which was patronised by the Savoy Royal Family as well as an important production at Doccia near Florence, founded by the Marquis Carlo Ginori in 1735, and which is still active to the present day.

The History of Capodimonte Porcelain

The origin of Capodimonte porcelain and production of Capodimonte porcelain figurines and floral displays dates back to the early eighteenth century and geographically to the Kingdom of Naples. The father of Capodimonte porcelain is considered to be Charles of Bourbon (1716-1788) son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Italian, Elizabeth Farnese. Charles was coronated King of Naples and Sicily on August 3rd. 1734 in Palermo Cathedral becoming Charles VII (1738-1759). In 1738 he married Maria Amalia daughter of the King of Saxony, Augustus III of Poland and granddaughter of Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and founder of the first European hard paste porcelain factory in Meissen in 1710.

It was from this union that Charles' interest in porcelain production in Naples first sprang. His desire was to create a porcelain production of a quality comparable with the factory in Saxony, whose methods and ingredients were only known by the chemist Bottiger. Charles initially allocated a small building in the Royal Palace to be dedicated to porcelain production under the direction of Giovanni Caselli and the chemist Livio Ottavio Schepers, who had originally worked at the Neapolitan Mint.

In spite of many efforts, including those underhand, the formula for porcelain remained a mystery. From the many investigations Charles finally concluded that the conditions in this little building were not suitable for porcelain production, there being insufficient space for the ovens and driers. In 1743 Charles then commissioned the construction of a new factory in the Royal Wood of Capodimonte, the architect being Ferdinando Sanfelice.

After much research throughout Italy to find a suitable substance to produce porcelain equal in quality to Chinese porcelain, deposits of kaolin, similar to that used by the Chinese, were discovered at Fuscaldo and Paola in the Province of Catanzaro. Immediately Charles ordered brushes and all painting equipment from Dresda ,and gold, used for the gilding, was obtained from crushed Ungheris and Zecchinis. Charles also employed the chemist and son of Livio Schepers, Gaetano Schepers, who perfected the porcelain paste .

Full production began with a workforce consisting of artistic director of miniatures, Giovanni Caselli, painter of the Royal Camera, his niece Maria Caselli painted flowers and landscapes, Giuseppe della Torre, Luigi Restile and Giacomo d'Avolio painted animals and battle scenes, Nicola Senzapaura painted villages and scenes with little figures and Giacomo Nani painted animals and fruit. The miniaturists Giovanni Sigismondo Fischer from Dresda and Ferdinand Sorrentino from Naples painted snuff-boxes. Knobs on walking sticks were mounted in gold by the Frenchman Pietro Chevalier and the Neapolitan Antonio de Laurentis.

The products manufactured at Capodimonte in this period included plates, vases, small and large bowls, tea and coffee cups, large and small jugs, sugar bowls, tea caddies, teapots, snuff-boxes, and walking stick handles mounted in gold.

In 1759 Philip V of Spain died and Charles took up the Spanish throne becoming Charles III King of Spain (1759-1788). Prior to his departure from Naples he ordered the demolition of the Royal Factory and transported all moulds, models and artists with him to Spain to found the porcelain factory Buen Retiro near Madrid, in an attempt to preserve his secret of porcelain manufacture and to leave almost no trace as to the origin of his discoveries.

Charles' son Ferdinand (1751-1825) succeeded his father to the Neapolitan throne becoming Ferdinand IV King of Naples (1759-1816) and later as Ferdinand I King of the Two Sicilies (1816-1825). Ferdinand inherited his father's passion for porcelain and, as a relatively young man of twenty, he charged the Brigadier Marquis Ricci with the task of creating a new factory at the Royal Villa at Portici, appointing him as director. At the same time Ferdinand also ordered that all the remaining porcelain, tools and machinery from his father's original factory be brought to the Royal Palace at Naples where the methods of Charles' original porcelain production were deduced. Construction of the new factory commenced in September 1771 and finished in February 1772 whereupon production began.

Sadly, soon after the completion of this new factory, Ricci died. He was succeeded, as director, by the Spaniard, Thomas Perez, an official to the First Secretary of State. The modellers at this time were Francesco Celebrano and Francesco Chiari, and the painters included Carlo Coccorese who had originally worked in Charles' factory prior to its destruction and, through a series of misfortunes, had returned from Spain finding work and recognition finally under Perez. Perez also increased the staff, employing in particular Saverio Grue, son of the painter Francesco Antonio Grue. Saverio was reknowned not only for his painting abilities  but also for his porcelain sculpture.

In this period the shape, style and decoration of the porcelain production was similar to that of the original Capodimonte factory. The factory output was relatively small employing few artists and the production was destined either for the Court or for visiting royalty or nobility.

In 1779 Domenico Venuti replaced Perez as director of the Royal Factory. Under Venuti's orders other remains of Charles' original porcelain production which had been found abandoned at the Royal  Palace of Portici, including plaster copies of Grecian busts found in the Herculaneum excavations, were brought to the Royal Palace of Naples to be used as models for the sculptors and painters. Venuti also proposed the creation of a special acacdemy, the Academy of the Nude (l'Accademia del Nudo), which Ferdinand duly founded in December 1781.

The aim of this academy was to return to the study of the antique and pure principles of art which, at that time, had been considered abandoned in favour of a more fashionable genre. One of the first artists to give lessons in this academy was Costanzo Angelini, whose studies and work of the nude occupy pride of place in Italian art together with those of the sculptor Antonio Canova.

Under Venuti's able direction the production at the Royal Factory reached its zenith of artistic splendour becoming famous throughout Europe. Of particular note were the production of two porcelain cases for two table clocks which played minuets. These clocks represented two different themes, on one, the four empires of the world were represented, and on the other, the turn of night to day was represented. The sculpture and painting of these pieces were executed under the direction of Venuti and Giacomo Milani respectively. These clocks were so beautiful that two songs were written after their two creators.

In 1782 Ferdinand ordered the production of a special dinner service intended as a gift for his father, Charles III of Spain, and founder of the original Capodimonte factory. This service was decorated with images of the vases and pictures found in the Herculaneum excavations. A special ninety four page catalogue was also produced by Venuti and Vincenzo Flauti.

These gifts, accompanied by two artists involved in their production, Giacomo Milani and Antonio Cioffi, were sent to Spain to the Spanish Court. Their reception, however, was fairly cold. The hospitality and appreciation of the Spanish King and Court was found wanting, the artists were not even permitted to present their work to the King. They returned to Naples after a hazardous return journey, offended and disappointed.

In 1785, however, Ferdinand ordered the production of another special "Etruscan" dinner service for George III, King of England. Ferdinand also required the production of a publication in which Venuti was to describe the decoration of the service in French. Gaetano Carcani, the director of the Royal Press was ordered to print one hundred copies of the book on Imperial Paper and a further six copies on Dutch Paper.   The service was finished in April 1785 and the printing in May of the same year.

The book consisted of 157 prints the first of which was a sepulchre uncovered at Nola. Each of the others represented individual pieces of the service modelled in shape and subject on the designs of different painted vases found in the excavations at Nola, Herculaneum, Pompei and in other parts of the Kingdom of Naples. At the end of the volume there was a large illustration depicting Tasconte, King of Etruria, presiding over the gladiatorial games.

The famous modeller Filippo Tagliolini accompanied this service to London and presented it to George III . In a subsequent letter to Venuti, Tagliolini reported that the King was overwhelmed with gratitude on receiving such a beautiful gift. This service was thought to be lost, but was latterly found in one of the cupboards in Windsor castle where it had been placed for safekeeping during restoration work.

Other porcelain dinner services were also produced for the Duchess of Parma, General Acton, a certain Mr. Batson and others. Famous clients of the Royal Factory included the English Admiral, Horatio Nelson, who wished to acquire the beautifully modelled figurines in Bisquit of the King, Queen and all the Royal Family. It is reported that Nelson, after having asked their price, was informed that not only these pieces, but any others he desired were to be given as a gift to Nelson from Ferdinand IV King of Naples. In a letter to Lord Saint Vincent Nelson described the event concluding "C'est très-beau de la parte du roi".

In early 1799 both the French invasion and the Neapolitan revolution took place and Ferdinand  fled to Sicily with the Royal Family in December 1798   leaving the throne of Naples and the Royal Factory at the mercies of the ensuing disorder. Domenico Venuti tried to protect the Factory from looting by the Neapolitan people and thereafter from the control of the French invaders led by the French General, Jean-Etienne Championnet. Venuti was unsuccessful and much dilapidation took place involving removal of valuable porcelain by the French forces by day and the stripping of lead from the Factory rooves by night.

Of particular interest at this time was the production of a porcelain dèjeuner originally commissioned by Queen Maria Carolina (the sister of Marie Antoinette) in 1799. This dèjeuner was intended as a gift for Admiral Nelson and consisted of 12 plates on which his famous sea battles were depicted together with his portrait and initials. In addition Nelson was to be given a glove-box made from Vesuvian lava stone decorated in gold and 12 small silver spoons with handles made from Eastern agate presented in an ornamental mahogany case. The preparation of materials for these items had originally been made by the artist Michele Arnaud prior to the Neapolitan revolution and the same artist was charged with its completion almost a year later.

In 1805 Ferdinand decided to show his gratitude to the Factory workers and decreed that they should receive six percent of the annual sales apart from their usual salaries. This money was distributed to the workers at the end of each year and in various proportions depending on their various roles. Even those who were employed on a daily basis were included providing they had not stopped working for one complete year.

However in 1806 the French occupation of Naples continued led by the invading army of Napoleon's elder brother, Giuseppe Bonaparte. Ferdinand was again forced   to return  to Palermo and Giuseppe Bonaparte was named King of Naples.

A franchise was granted to Poulard & C. for porcelain production on the provisos that the porcelain quality and manufacturing process was improved, or at least that the production was maintained comparable in quality to the original production and also that the transportation of the moulds and plans was forbidden. In addition all the drawings, moulds and other tools were handed over to this company for 3000 ducats and the gardens, presbytery and adjacent buildings of the Church of Santa Maria della Vita were rented out for porcelain production for a further annual sum of 50 ducats. Poulard then, at considerable expense, converted these buildings into an establishment suitable for the production of porcelain.