The dish Dagoty with decoration depicting the story from the novel by J.-A. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre "Paul and Virginia."

The Dagoty Manufacture is one of the most outstanding Parisian porcelain factories of the first quarter of the XIX century. Production emerged at the end of the XVIII century and rapidly developed, producing high-quality products that were highly valued not only in France, but also in Russia. Dagoty is the surname of the founders of the production, which comes from the noble form of d'Agoty. During the French Revolution of 1789, the heirs combined the "noble" particle "de" with the surname. The history of the factory should begin with the name of Jacques Fabien Dagoty (1711 - 1785). He was involved in painting, physics, natural history, excellently mastered the technique of color engraving, which he used to create anatomical atlases, and also founded the journal "Journal de la physique". Four out of five sons of Jacques Dagoty were engravers as well. The eldest son, Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty, was the court painter of Queen Marie Antoinette. He painted portraits of the queen and distinguished courtiers, and was the author of beautiful engravings of views of Italy. Three of his sons - Pierre-Louis, Jean-Baptiste-Etienne, and Isidore Dagoty - became ceramists and, through the patronage of the Duke of Angoulême, became apprentices at the Dihl and Gérard factories. Here they mastered the basics of production. The youngest of the brothers, Isidore, died young. Pierre-Louis and Etienne bought a small bankrupt factory in the district of Montparnasse on Chevreuse Street in 1798 and founded their own production there. However, in 1800, Etienne passed away. After settling all legal formalities, Pierre-Louis Dagoty became the sole owner of the factory on August 7, 1804, and in the same year opened one of the most beautiful, fashionable, and expensive shops in Paris on Poissonnière Boulevard.In the first decade of the 19th century, Dagoty's manufactory was thriving. More than 100 permanent employees worked here, with one large furnace, six muffles for firing the decor, a chemistry cabinet, and various workshops at their disposal. The enterprise produced solid, well-glazed porcelain of beautiful white color. It was used to make sculptures, reliefs, tea, dining and medical utensils, vases, writing instruments, and clock cases.Teapot in the form of a boar's head, 1790-1800. Porcelain, overglaze painting, gilding. The items were distinguished by a high level of artistic quality, excellent execution, and were made in the spirit of the time - using rich molded sculptural decor. This was a common trend in porcelain production in the first quarter of the 19th century. Handles of vases and cups were usually decorated with mascarons, stylized flowers, and acanthus leaves located at the top. The tops of the lids were decorated with charming buds or pine cones. Spouts of tea and coffee pots were in the form of bird beaks or animal heads. The painting used floral motifs, polychrome landscapes and still lifes, sepia drawings with literary plots and hunting scenes, monochrome painting "a la cameo." The manufacture of antique motifs brought special fame.The Dézhen with a painting based on the story of the novel by J.-A Bernardin de Saint-Pierre "Paul and Virginia", the beginning of the XIX century. Porcelain, overglaze painting, gilding. It was considered good manners to purchase Dagoty porcelain as a gift or souvenir already in the early XIX century. The products of the manufactory were valued even in high circles. So, shortly before the coronation of Napoleon, Pierre Dagoty sent Josephine sketches of dishes with her imperial coat of arms. She was incredibly pleased with the work, and from 1804 to 1814, the mark of the enterprise bore the designation "Empress's Manufactory", emphasizing the personal patronage of Napoleon's spouse and making Dagoty, alongside the state-owned Sèvres porcelain manufactory, a supplier to the highest court. Records in her account book testify to Josephine's orders. When the empress was replaced by Queen Marie-Louise, the attitude towards the supplier remained the same, and she, like Josephine, patronized Pierre Dagoty. During the financial crisis of 1806, almost all owners of manufactories turned to the state for help. Dagoty was no exception. He asks for a loan, arguing that he found a market for his products in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Here is what he writes in 1807: "I am engaged exclusively in the production of items of good taste and at reasonable prices, I found an easy way to sell my products, especially in St. Petersburg and Moscow... but the war disrupted our relations with the North." At the industrial exhibition of 1806, Dagoty receives a silver medal for taste in the variety of products, matte and shiny gold (smooth and relief) and his colors. Since then, colored backgrounds have brought success to the manufactory. Pink, light yellow, light blue, crimson, and often used black.Dark backgrounds are interrupted by horizontal or polychrome medallions with landscapes, military scenes, reproductions from La Fontaine's fables engravings, or simply a flower. Plate depicting the Battle of Austerlitz, first quarter of the 19th century. Porcelain, overglaze covering and painting, gilding, cyrslng After the period that entered French history as the Restoration (1815-1830), the tradition of patronage continues.The production of women of the upper class for the manufactory continued. The enterprise came under the protection of the Duchess of Angoulême. However, economic difficulties forced Pierre Dagoty in 1816 to join forces with the father and son entrepreneurs Honoré. According to the agreement, they created the Dagoty-Honoré partnership for a period of 20 years. Production here was put on an industrial scale. But after working for four years, the partnership fell apart. Pierre Dagoty was forced to leave Paris, and his manufactory ceased to exist.Cup with saucer with a portrait of Princess Maria Baryatinskaya with her daughter Olga, 1817-1818. Porcelain, overglaze painting, gilding, cyrovka.