Alexandre Brongniart and the Arts of the Earth: Coining “La Céramique”

Carr-Trebelhorn, Julia

Taking on the task of ordering the sciences related to pottery and clay-based objects, natural historian and porcelainier Alexandre Brongniart sought a new way of describing the ancient practice. Early in his forty-seven-year career as director of the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, Brongniart developed a research center for the advanced study of pottery and porcelain making. Brongniart recognized that an inclusive and distinct term for the field was necessary, but it had to be introduced carefully, so that it was welcomed rather than rejected as presumptuous. Through close reading of Brongniart’s writings, as well as contemporary periodicals and the texts of other authors, the development of the word “ceramic” – originally introduced by Brongniart and his associates in French as “la céramique” – can be traced closely. I show that this was a deliberate, methodical, and years-long effort to create a durable, comprehensive term.

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