At the edge of Saint-Cloud, within a vast expanse of 4 hectares, La Cité de la Céramique is a ceramics museum occupying 25 buildings which have been listed Historic Monuments since 1942. Since January 2010, La Cité has been home to the Sèvres National Manufactory (Manufacture nationale de Sèvres), which has been showcasing excellence in ceramics since the 18th century, and the National Ceramics Museum (Musée national de la Céramique), which opened its doors in 1812 to show the general public pottery, earthenware, stoneware and porcelain from all over the world and from all eras. In May 2012, the Adrien Dubouché National Museum of Limoges porcelain was added to these two prestigious establishments, forming a complex named La Cité de la Céramique - Sèvres & Limoges.
La Cité reissues historical ceramic art objects and produces new, innovative and daring creations, using ancestral techniques. Nearly 120 craftspeople continue to practise some thirty trades, and endeavour to keep alive the gestures and techniques passed on down the generations. In their 27 workshops, around 3,000 pieces are produced each year for the major government bodies or art galleries. The works take many forms: decorative art objects, tableware, sculptures, contemporary art objects...
In addition to selling and distributing the objects produced, La Cité also carries out scientific, technical and historical research in the field of ceramics. In their laboratory, chemists develop new variants of pastes, glazes and colours.
A journey in the land of exceptional craftsmanship, which keeps the memory of traditional methods alive to improve the artistic creations of today...
