Charles Ahrenfeldt Limoges marks

About Ahrenfeldt Limoges

Charles Ahrenfeldt developed a porcelain business linking the American market with Paris and Limoges. Born in Germany in 1807, he imported porcelain into New York during the 1830s before operating a decorating studio in Paris. His export business subsequently became established in Limoges. A decorating shop there opened in 1884, and the business expanded into porcelain manufacture. His son, Charles J. Ahrenfeldt, succeeded him in 1894.

The Montjovis works developed during the mid-1890s under the management of Arnold Grob, previously associated with the firm’s Zurich trade. It produced white and decorated porcelain, particularly dinner, tea and coffee services. American wholesalers and retailers were important customers. An underglaze factory monogram and a separate decorating stamp could appear together on the same piece, sometimes alongside a retailer’s name. These marks record different stages in the production and sale of a service.

Grob took over the factory in 1917. During the 1920s Ahrenfeldt participated in the modern decorative-arts market, supplying porcelain for Parisian designers and retailers as well as traditional services. The firm received a Grand Prix at the 1925 Paris decorative-arts exhibition. Grob’s widow continued the business after his death in 1934. A financial group acquired the factory in 1958, and production declined before its closure in 1969.