"The art of fire is subtle and presents us with constant challenges. It excites us to always go further. I accept the challenge. It is a challenge that demands time before all else. It is the path of perfection.” - Michel Bernardaud Bernardaud perpetuates and diversifies traditional skills and techniques in the fabrication of porcelain and thus preserves a valuable component of the cultural heritage of France. This pioneering French company has remained an authority on the art of fine porcelain for almost 150 years - current president Michel Bernardaud has even written the book. Stemming from a factory that opened in 1863, the company was acquired in 1900 by a distinguished apprentice named Léonard Bernardaud who lent the company his family name. Today, Bernardaud Porcelain artisans use the same technique of hand sculpting fine, bisque porcelain (non-glazed) that was first demonstrated by French artist Paul de Bourgoing in 1828. In 1986, the company acquired The Ancienne Manufacture Royale, part of the Manufacture de Sèrves, an organization that supplied fine porcelain tableware to the royal families of France during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, Bernardaud Porcelain artisans use the same technique of hand sculpting fine, bisque porcelain (non-glazed) that was first demonstrated by French artist Paul de Bourgoing in 1828. And The Ancienne Manufacture Royale also remains, creating identical reproductions of 18th and 19th century masterpieces.