I almost started this post by writing, "Please forgive me, for I am on a porcelain kick this week." And then I realized that it was a stupid comment, because why does anyone need forgiveness for going on a porcelain jag? I mean, what's so bad about it?
Two people whose porcelain kick resulted in something quite spectacular were Patrick and Josephine Frémontier, who owned both the Paris home featured here (originally featured in House & Garden, October 1999) as well as an antiques shop in the same building. When I look at these photos, I can't stop marveling over the sheer volume of blue and white porcelain in the couple's salon. The Chinese vases and medallions, which practically envelop the room's lacquered-panel walls, were salvaged from a 17th-century shipwreck and then sent off to auction, where M. Frémontier "bought a substantial amount." According to the homeowner, the porcelain had been ordered for the Dutch market, which explains the Dutch-style motifs that adorn the porcelain. With their cache of Chinese porcelain in hand, the Frémontiers set about displaying the pieces in carved wall panels, a decorative arrangement that had originally developed in seventeenth-century Holland. The decorative scheme is certainly cohesive-looking, and if you study the photo below, you'll notice that even the undersides of the wall brackets are embellished with what appear to be porcelain lids.
There is more porcelain to come in Friday's blog post, but in the meantime, savor what House & Garden referred to as a "rare blend."
All photos from House & Garden, October 1999; Pascal Chevallier photographer