PORCELAIN & PROPAGANDA | French First Empire Style in Paris circa 1800 with Sylvia Sagona

Napoleon Bonaparte was not just a great general, town planner and administrative genius but knew the power of advertising and manipulating the media. Each step in his rise to power was commemorated by a style publicized by a series of paintings, Sevres designed porcelain, snuff boxes, crystal, luxurious fabrics covered in his symbols and medals to distribute to the ends of his Empire. From grandiose monuments to the triumphant Napoleon on your dinner plate, it was impossible to escape the myth in the making.

SYLVIA SAGONA is a Fellow of the School of Languages at the University of Melbourne specialising in 19^th century French art and society.