You know their name, and above all the immense fortune that accompanies it. But did you know that the Rothschild family are passionate art lovers, and were especially devoted to collecting the porcelains of Sèvres? The Manufactures nationales – Sèvres & Mobilier national, and the Académie des beaux-arts share this generation‑to‑generation devotion, framed by a major exhibition that reveals the full richness of French know‑how — and the interiors of the Rothschilds’ châteaux.
From April 17 to July 26, 2026, at the Gobelins Gallery, in the Mobilier National, come and admire a wide-ranging collection of Sèvres porcelain, with the exhibition Sèvres, a Rothschild Passion. The show features numerous vases, pomanders or potpourri jars, dinner services, cups and saucers, bowls, terrines, but also paintings and furniture.
The Rothschild family saga begins in Frankfurt. Thanks to the success of the family business, five Rothschild brothers move to major European capitals—Paris, London, Vienna, or Naples—scaling up the bank as it rapidly gains momentum. In the early 19th century, the brothers are elevated to the rank of baron, business thrives, and the Rothschilds indulge their passion: buying and collecting works of art.
The family develops a particular taste for Sèvres porcelain, which they buy and sell in abundance. They are especially drawn to the old Sèvres, i.e., the pieces dating from the Ancien Régime and having belonged to the nobles and to the French aristocrats of earlier centuries. This passion helps keep the art market alive and fuels interest in the Sèvres manufactory. Members of the Rothschild family have owned some of the finest objects crafted in the eighteenth century.
The various branches of the Rothschild family continue to circulate the works: they are sold, bought back, bequeathed, and gifted to museums... Porcelain travels from castle to villa, guided by wills. They adorn walls and sideboards, serving as much as objets d’art as everyday items. Yes, these porcelains have been used! The exhibition lays out a grand table, a reminder of the Rothschilds’ taste for extravagant, luxurious celebrations, where one dines on fine tableware.
The Mobilier National also seeks to spotlight several members of this family—those who built the finest collections and those who made the largest donations to museums and public institutions.
Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild, one of the family’s premier Sèvres buffs, bequeathed in 1934 her Mediterranean villa—an elegant setting housing a fabulous collection of Sèvres porcelain—to the Académie des beaux-arts. Her figure is the guide that accompanies visitors along the route, through Europe and objects that bear witness to history. The display also reveals several other members of this unusually varied family through these collections.
The Mobilier national has put these works back in their original setting, recreating interiors from the Rothschild houses. Thanks to furniture and decorations drawn from the reserves of the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, as well as from several museums and private collections, the exhibition was able to recreate salons and rooms where the porcelains were displayed.
You’ll have guessed it: this exhibition plunges visitors into the opulent world of the Rothschilds across the centuries. Their passion for porcelain offers a glimpse into the family’s connections and way of life.
But porcelain remains at the heart of the visit: a room in particular lets us discover the creation process of the pieces, with the moulds of the forms and the drawing catalogue... Several painters and designers from Sèvres are featured. Read the wall texts carefully to grasp all the details of these sometimes intricate stories.
This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please let us know.
Dates and Opening Time
From April 17, 2026 to July 26, 2026
Location
Mobilier National
42 Avenue des Gobelins
75013 Paris 13
Prices
Tarif réduit: €7
Tarif plein: €8
Official website
mobiliernational.culture.gouv.fr
