The Royal Collection contains one of the finest groups of eighteenth-century Sevres porcelain in the world. It's importance has long been recognised, but it is only with the publication of Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue's monumental three-volume catalogue raisonne that it's richness, variety and range can be fully appreciated. The three volumes cover all the French porcelain in the Collection made at Sevres and in the Paris factories before 1830, although the chief emphasis is on the King's aquisition of outstanding pieces of eighteenth-century Sevres porcelain. Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue was Director of the Royal Collection and Surveyor of The Queen's Works of Art until 1996. A former Trustee of the Wallace Collection and Honorary President of the French Porcelain Society from 1985 to 1999, he is regarded as one the world's leading authorities on Sevres porcelain and has published extensively on the decorative arts in the Royal Collection.