Porcelain was commonly used for Rococo figurines and decorative objects. Its smooth white surface, fine detail, and ability to accept colorful overglaze decoration made it especially well suited to the style’s lively figures, elegant costumes, theatrical poses, and ornamental curves.
European porcelain production expanded rapidly during the eighteenth century. Meissen in Saxony was the earliest major European porcelain manufactory, while factories at Nymphenburg, Sèvres, and elsewhere developed their own distinctive figures and tableware. Porcelain figurines first appeared as substitutes for elaborate sugar sculptures displayed on grand dining tables, then became popular ornaments for mantelpieces and furniture.
Many Rococo figures depicted commedia dell’arte characters, lovers, musicians, street vendors, fashionable people, and pairs of birds. Johann Joachim Kändler was the leading modeller at Meissen, and Franz Anton Bustelli became famous for animated figures produced at Nymphenburg. Their work helped establish the porcelain figure as a defining object of Rococo decorative art.
Wood, bronze, and marble also appeared in Rococo interiors and sculpture, so porcelain was not the only material in use. The question points specifically to the small figurines and decorative ceramics for which porcelain became especially characteristic.