Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea (or Real Fabbrica di Napoli)

The Royal Porcelain Factory of Naples was founded in 1771 by the tenacious will of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon despite the veto of his father Charles III, who, on leaving Naples for Spain, had ordered the divestiture of the Royal Porcelain Factory of Capodimonte, which he had founded in 1743, together with all the equipment that could not be transported to Madrid, where another factory, the Buen Retiro Manufactory, was to be built.
The factory was active first in the Royal Palace of Portici and then in the Royal Palace of Naples; the composition of the paste was entrusted to Gaetano Tucci while Francesco Celebrano was appointed chief modeller. The heyday was reached under the artistic direction of Domenico Venuti, scientist, artist and patron Tagliolini – famous for his biscuit compositions – was the new modeller.
Fine services and crockery were produced, decorated with still lives, views of famous and picturesque sites of the kingdom, pottery and furnishings of all kinds, embellished with archaeological motifs, views of classical buildings and Pompeian scenes, derived from the neoclassical style in vogue during the Ferdinandean period.
In the twenty years between 1780 and 1800, a veritable School of Art was born where sumptuous tableware and precious crockery were produced that are still preserved in the Capodimonte Museum today.
In 1806, with the advent of French rule, the Royal Factory was handed over to a group of private individuals who, however, did not feed production.