Full upper denture, London, England, 1795-1814

Full upper denture, broken and repaired (could not now be worn), glazed porcelain, probably de Chunant type, 1795-1814

Porcelain dentures like this set were popular in the 1700s and 1800s. These porcelain dentures were possibly made by Nicholas Dubois de Chémant (1753-1824). He was a pioneer of porcelain dentures in the UK. He learned about them from Alexis Duchâteau (1714-92) in France. Duchâteau had developed porcelain dentures to replace his own stained and bad-smelling ivory set. Dubois de Chémant patented them in Britain in 1791. Most of his porcelain was obtained from Wedgwood. However, porcelain eventually decays in the mouth. It began being replaced by ‘vulcanite’ in the mid-1800s. This set has been repaired so as to make them almost impossible to wear.