Partial Limoges Porcelain Coffee Set – Manufrance – Saint-Étienne, c. 1930

Partial Limoges porcelain coffee set, sold by Manufrance in Saint-Étienne, comprising a lidded sugar bowl, a creamer and two cups with matching saucers.

The set is made of very fine, luminous white porcelain, entirely decorated with a delicate polychrome floral design featuring bouquets and small flowers in shades of pink, red, blue, violet and green. The motifs are freely arranged across the various pieces, combining individual blossoms with more elaborate floral compositions in a particularly elegant style.

The pieces are accented with fine gold lines, while the handles and certain moulded elements also feature delicate gilded decoration. The sugar bowl is distinguished by two small side handles with curved ends and a lid topped with a knob finial. The creamer has a gently flared shape, with a finely modelled pouring spout and an elegant handle.

The two small cups are particularly well suited to serving coffee. Measuring approximately 8.5 cm in diameter and relatively low in height, they are more appropriately described as coffee cups rather than standard-sized teacups.

The set retains the charm of antique or vintage French tableware, combining delicacy and refinement with a floral decoration characteristic of French porcelain intended for domestic use.

Very good condition. Minor wear to the gold lines and gilded accents, particularly in areas most exposed to handling.

Founded in Saint-Étienne in 1885 by Étienne Mimard and Pierre Blachon, the Manufacture française d’armes et de cycles de Saint-Étienne was originally an industrial company. It manufactured firearms and later bicycles, sewing machines and fishing equipment. Manufrance soon became much more than a manufacturer in the strict sense: it was also a retail and mail-order company offering, through its famous Tarif-Albums and later catalogues, a vast selection of products. Some were manufactured in its own workshops, while others were sourced from partner manufacturers and specialist makers. The marking “Manufrance – Saint-Étienne” therefore identifies the retail house, while “Véritable porcelaine de Limoges” indicates the origin of the porcelain. Originally aimed at hunters, the catalogue soon expanded to a much broader clientele, becoming a kind of department store delivered to French households by mail.