Limoges had strong antecedents in the production of decorative objects. The city was the most famous European centre of
vitreous enamel production in the 12th century, and
Limoges enamel was known as
Opus de Limogia or
Labor Limogiae. Limoges had also been the site of a minor industry producing plain
faience earthenware since the 1730s. centrepiece for the
Exposition Universelle of 1855, Pouyat factory The manufacturing of hard-paste porcelain at Limoges was established by
Turgot in 1771 following the discovery of local supplies of
kaolin and a material similar to
petuntse in the economically distressed area at
Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, near Limoges. The materials, which were quarried beginning in 1768, were used to produce hard-paste porcelain similar to
Chinese porcelain. A manufactory at Limoges was placed under the patronage of the
comte d'Artois, brother of
Louis XVI, and was later purchased by the King in 1784, apparently with the idea of producing hard-paste bodies for decoration at
Sèvres, although this never happened. After the
French Revolution a number of private factories were established at Limoges, including
Bernardaud,
Haviland & Co. and
Royal Limoges. == Present day ==