Meissen porcelain is the first European hard-paste porcelain that was developed from 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his untimely death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger, continued his work and brought porcelain to the market, and he has often been credited with the invention. The production of porcelain at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers.

Limoges had been the site of a minor industry producing plain faience earthenwares since the 1730s. The manufacturing of hard-paste porcelain at Limoges was established by Turgot in 1771 following the discovery of local supplies of kaolin and a material similar to petuntse in the economically distressed area at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, near Limoges. The ingredients were used for the production of hard-paste porcelain similar to Chinese porcelain. The materials were quarried commencing in 1768.