When French Elegance Meets Chinese Style: The Romantic Tale of Two Porcelain Capitals

This summer, the global spotlight once again focused on the romantic city of Paris, where the 33rd Summer Olympic Games were successfully held and concluded. Before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee collected four Chinese blue and white porcelain artworks, and said that the set of blue and white porcelain art not only demonstrates the exquisiteness of traditional Chinese craftsmanship, but also reflects the global resonance of the Olympic spirit.

From sports competition to cultural exchange, the full demonstrate of Chinese stories and culture on the occasion of the Paris Olympic Games has made the world appreciate the harmony and symbiosis of Chinese culture and the Olympics, and feel the magnificent atmosphere of China's self-confidence and openness in the new era.

Limoges, a city in the south of France, is one of the oldest cities and is known as the 'Porcelain Capital' of France. Like Jingdezhen, China's porcelain capital, Limoges showcases the charm of porcelain in many ways, making it a part of life and art, and it also committed to the inheritance of ceramic craftsmanship and culture.

In the hearts of many ceramic artists around the world, these two cities have their own unparalleled and irreplaceable charm in ceramic art, and they have become pilgrimage sites for ceramic artists with their openness, inclusiveness, innovation and vitality.

Thank you Limoges and love about Jingdezhen

On the streets of Limoges and on the campus of Jingdezhen Ceramic University, there stands a pillar made of blue and white porcelain. This set of artworks, created in 2018,is the joint work of teachers and students of École Nationale Supérieure d'Art Limoges and Jingdezhen Ceramic University.

Hundreds of years ago, the exquisite blue and white porcelain of Jingdezhen traveled across the sea to France through the Maritime Silk Road, not only influenced the porcelain industry of France, but also enriched the cultural lives of the local people. In the late 18th century, Limoges was inspired by the accidental discovery of kaolin, turning the attention of its porcelain craftsmen to the Orient, and the “binary formula” of kaolin and porcelain stone was introduced to France from Jingdezhen.

When French elegance meets Chinese style, and when Chinese skills encounters French artists, a romantic melody of porcelain resonates between the 'porcelain capitals' of China and France. Jingdezhen and Limoges, two ancient cities, have produced exquisite ceramic works in different time and background, continuously attempting to understand each other's cultures and engaging in cultural exchanges. This mutual attraction and interest rooted in historical memory offers endlessly fascinating and witness the inclusiveness and mutual learning between China and France.

In 2010, Jingdezhen and Limoges became sister cities, with ceramic culture serving as the common language. A year later, École Nationale Supérieure d'Art Limoges and Jingdezhen Ceramic University exchanged art students, who became young ambassadors for cultural and artistic exchanges between the two cities and two countries.

Friendship, which derives from close contact between peoples, holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France. The two ancient porcelain capitals have forged a bond through ceramics, connecting China and France, communicating with each other, and will write a new chapter in Sino-French cultural and artistic exchanges.