The porcelain of Edmé Samson - from copies to antique table lamps
Porcelain, along with many of our day to day products, was discovered in China over a thousand years ago, during the Tang dynasty. That is why, in fact, in the West we call it ‘China’- because that’s where it came from!
The discovery of porcelain in Europe, however, did not occur until the early 18th century in the German Princely Electorate of Saxony. The demand became a flood and vast amounts were exported from China.
The wealthy classes sent orders for dinner services via ships’ captains, who, twelve months later, would collect the service from the southern Chinese trading port of Canton. Many of these services were decorated with the family coat of arms of wealthy patrons. They were produced for coffee and tea as well as complete dinner services and were known as “armorial” services. Very few have survived, complete and in original condition, as pieces became lost and broken. So the demand for replacements developed.
It was Edmé Samson, born in Paris in 1810, who established the porcelain company of Samson-Edmé et Cie in the 1830’s. Samson began his career by producing replacement pieces, but it soon became obvious that his skill at reproduction resulted in superb copies of the original. By the middle of the 19th century, Samson was producing porcelain in all shapes in imitation of all the major European factories, as well as Japanese Imari and the famous Famille Rose and Famille Vert styles, produced in China between 1720 and 1790.
In the 19th century, Samson porcelain was considered as copies only, but now, Samson copies are antique, being over 100 years old. The Antique and Vintage Table Lamp Co lists a number of Samson vases now produced as unique table lamps.
Antique lamps, with their inherent element of style, fit perfectly into the classic interior design. Table lamps are placed to create ambient or environmental lighting as an important element to an interior. The Antique and Vintage Table Lamp Co’s extensive range of classic lamps is designed to provide softly illuminated spaces to compliment the elegant room.
8-Nov-2006