Subsidiary Structures of The Palace of Versailles - The Trianon de Porcelaine

The Trianon De Porcelaine

Located at the northern end of the transverse arm of the Grand Canal, the Trianon de Porcelaine formed a pendant to the Ménagerie. Designed by Louis Le Vau and François d'Orbay and built between 1669-1670 as a pleasure pavilion for Louis XIV and his mistress, the marquise de Montespan, the central pavilion and its four smaller buildings were covered with blue and white earthenware (rather than porcelain, which had not yet been made in Europe) tiles in imitation of porcelain tiles. Regrettably, the Trianon de Porcelaine was relatively short-lived, owing to the waning of the marquise de Montespan's popularity and the maintenance of the exterior tile revetment—tiles would fracture and detach from the surface of the buildings due to the cold weather. In 1687, the Trianon de Porcelaine was destroyed; but, as the location of favored by Louis XIV, the Grand Trianon was built on the same site.