Archives

The conservation and dissemination of the institution’s archives has constituted an official mission ever since its creation in 1740.

Sèvres’ archives comprise registers, sets, plans, posters, photographs, postcards, etc. produced or received by the establishment as part of its activities.

Lettre du 9 août 1793 du Ministre de l'Intérieur au Directeur de la Manufacture nationale de Sèvres (Dominique Joseph Garat)

(c) Sèvres - Cité de la céramique

The archives are organized according to workshop or department, providing information on the elaboration and history of Sèvres' productions, as well as their administrative, financial and artistic aspects. The importance of these archives has always been recognized.
During the French Revolution (1789-1799), the scientific documents were locked within a cabinet for their protection. Soon afterwards, Alexandre Brongniart (Director of the Manufacture from 1800 to 1847) established a classification system for all library and archival documents (graphic arts, models and moulds). For their proper inventorying, he created a new post, that of Collections Curator, first occupied by Denis Désiré Riocreux from 1812 to 1870.
The first summary inventory concerning only archival documents was published by Emile Bourgeois in 1906. Since 2010, it has been complemented by the Museum’s archives and continually updated (see the online archival inventories).
Numerous archival summaries are made available, rendering the information more rapidly accessible via the consultation room documentation. In the reading room, it is also possible to consult digital versions of the following archives: H 1-4, F, Vv 1-16, Vv 17bis, Vy 1-13, Vaa 4-8, Vaa 15 and Vbb 11-12.

Contact des ressources documentaires

ressources.documentaires@sevresciteceramique.fr