Bernardaud Takes Over Château de Chenonceau

Thinking of going to France for the festive season? Château de Chenonceau, one of the most emblematic castles of the Loire Valley, has a special Christmas surprise for you. Until January 5, the castle halls are adorned with flower design installations called “Noël de Porcelaine”, created in collaboration with the oldest French Limoges porcelain manufacturer Bernardaud.

Fashion fans will certainly recognise the black and white checked floor of the castle because of Chanel, who filmed a Métiers d’Art 2020/2021 collection film back in the Covid time four years ago when it was impossible for guests to travel and come together. This hall was created by Catherine de Médicis, who nostalgic for her native Florence, designed a graceful 60 m-long gallery spanning the Loire river as if it was Ponte Vecchio. She also came to France with hundreds of exotic and colourful birds, that she gorgeously let out of their cages to fly freely over the chequered gallery. This story inspired the collaboration with Bernardaud, who has a porcelain set called “Aux Oiseaux” with golden lines and exotic birds, reminiscent of Catherine de Médicis’ favourite creatures. Now, the full set is on view in the main gallery of the castle, adorned with magnificent flower installations, created by Jean-François Boucher, floral designer for Château of Chenonceau, who composed them with more than a hundred or so varieties of flowers, foliage and vegetables grown on the estate and an armful of grasses, branches and wildflowers that he collected nearby.

“To match this exceptional setting, we wanted to showcase the very best that Limoges porcelain has to offer in terms of festive table settings, with the “Aux Oiseaux “collection, laid out for almost 70 guests! It's an enchanting setting, representative of our expertise, and one that resonates particularly well with the history of the Château,” explains Michel Bernardaud, president of the company from the fourth generation of Bernardaud family.

But that’s not all, some of the most emblematic rooms of the castle have been also embellished for the occasion with Bernardaud objects. You will spot items from the iconic Kintsugi collection, vases from Panarea collection and Damiani collections, but also numerous Lithophanies - special objects in porcelain that you can light up like a small lamp - in the François I salons, Chambre des Cinq Reines, and bedrooms of Gabrielle d'Estrées, Louise de Lorraine and Diane de Poitiers, where they are in a dialogue with flower compositions. Simply, magic.

Bernardaud is available in Dubai Mall.

Courtesy: Bernardaud

Text: Lidia Ageeva