2 Bernardaud Limoges French Louvre Pattern Pieces and a BIA Cordon Bleu Crock. All marked on bases; BIA made in China. 

Largest: 11 x 11 x 4 3/4 in. 

#235 #4350 . 

Bernardaud is a French family-run business that manufactures Limoges porcelain. In the 1890s Léonard Bernardaud (1856-1923) was introduced to Rémi Delinières, who ran a porcelain factory in Limoges, a company operating since 1863. They became partners in 1895 when the company was renamed R. Delinières & Cie 7. This was dissolved in 1900 and replaced by the new company L. Bernardaud & Cie, who established a sales system without intermediaries with American customers by setting up an office in New York in 1911. In 1923, when Léonard passed away, his two sons, Jacques Bernardaud (1888-?) and Michel Bernardaud (1896-1949) took over. Under their direction the porcelain factory expanded its offerings significantly, and many of their pieces in the Art Deco style were presented in major international exhibitions in Paris in 1925, 1931, and 1937. The company weathered the Great Depression and World War II, embracing modern innovations and updating to a gas-powered Hoffmann kiln in 1949. That same year Michel passed away, leaving Jacques in sole control, and he began to focus more on relationships with painters and other artists to stylize their work instead of sculptural innovations. In 1962 Pierre (1928-1994, Michel’s son, took over management of the factory. He brought his cousin Paul, Jacque’s son, to work alongside him. The two of them sought out industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create contemporary pieces of porcelain, and decided to embrace television advertising, which gave them an advantage. In 1970 Bernardaud bought the Vignaud factory, located on rue du Chinchauvaud, in Limoges, which doubled their porcelain production. Michel Bernardaud (1957-), the son of Pierre Bernardaud, joined the family business in 1979 and became general manager in 1986. He facilitated the acquisition of the Royal Limoges company (historically known as the Manufacture Royale de Limoges), and pushed for Bernardaud to broaden its international reach in the 1990s. The Limoges factory was updated significantly and restructured to become a center of culture, with daily receptions open to the public and artists. In 1994, he was appointed by the company’s board of directors to take over the firm, after Pierre died in a helicopter accident in Vietnam. The Bernardaud Foundation was created in 2003, and today the company employs over 300 people at their various locations, still committed to high quality while constantly pursuing more efficient techniques and mechanical processes.

BIA Cordon Bleu was founded by a French and Belgian couple named Jean and Jane Mouraille who had first met at the 1939 World’s Fair in San Francisco. When they fled to the United States to escape World War II, the expatriates eventually decided to stay and open their own company in 1952. The BIA stands for “Belgium Import Association,” and the company originated as a provider of dinnerware and porcelain in California, eventually expanding to a global market. They imported primarily from Europe, but when Chris Soenksen bought the company from them in the 1970s he began to import from South America and other continents to create more diverse and unique offerings, becoming primarily known for their ceramics by the late 1980s. When the company was taken over by entrepreneur Paul Baughman in the late 1990s, they began to import from China as well, and expanded into Food Services and Hospitality Services. Today the company focuses on the millennial market, with simple, cost-efficient, and durable cookware, bakeware, table, and accessories their core offerings.