Sèvres
Bowl and its circular tray "new form" in first size in porcelain with green background and flowers decoration.
Bears in blue on the reverse the LL interlaced with the letter-date Z for the year 1777, and the marks L for the painter Denis Levé, active from 1754 to 1793 and from 1795 to 1805 ; VD for the gilder Jean-Baptiste Vandé, active from 1753 to 1779 ; and B for the gilder Jean-Pierre Boulanger, active from 1754 to 1785.
Soft porcelain
18th century.
H. of the tray : 4,7 cm ; D. : 21,8 cm ; L. : 24,3 cm
H. of the bowl : 12,1 cm ; L. : 18,8 cm
Provenance : offered in 1777 by Louis XVI to his brother-in-law, the emperor of Austria Joseph II. Private collection.
Bibliography: Dorothée Guillemé-Brulon, "Les grands services de Sèvres : le service de Joseph II", L'Estampille, n° 158, June 1983, p. 32-42.
This luxurious accessory intended to consume a broth is characterized by its luminous green background and its painted reserves of polychrome flowers and fruits in natural colours, which stand out against the white porcelain background. The labels are surrounded by a wide net of chased gilding. The outer parts of the tray and the bowl are enriched with a frieze painted in gold composed of rosettes with a double band of engraved gold, on a background of scrolls also painted in gold. Resting on a circular tray lined with gold with openwork handles, the covered bowl is equipped with two handles with ears formed of foliage scrolls delicately highlighted with gold. Its lid is topped with a golden seed-shaped grip.
A royal gift
This piece is a present made in 1777 by King Louis XVI (1754-1793) to his brother-in-law the Austrian Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790). Joseph II was the eldest son of Maria Theresa (1717-1780), Empress of Austria, and Francis I Stephen of Lorraine (1708-1765). In the spring of 1777, Marie Antoinette's brother (1755-1793) traveled to France under the pseudonym of Count Falkenstein to strengthen family and diplomatic ties between the two nations. During his stay in France, Louis XVI offered magnificent gifts from the French royal manufactures. The Sèvres factory provided a service with "green background and groups of flowers and fruits" accompanied by one hundred and sixty-three cookie sculptures for the decoration of the table. This present, amounting to 43 560 livres, included vases of ornaments, a lunch with green background and miniatures for 1200 livres, and, this bowl with "green background flowers" for 264 livres.
This "new form bowl" is a magnificent testimony to the diplomatic gifts offered by the king of France. In addition to the richness of its gilding applied by Jean-Pierre Boulanger (active from 1754 to 1785) and Jean-Baptiste Vandé (active from 1753 to 1779), the fineness of the painted flowers is characteristic of the art of Denis Levé (active from 1754 to 1793 and from 1795 to 1805). Issued to Emperor Joseph II, April 30, 1777, it is the only one to appear in the archives of the Royal Manufacture of Sevres, during the first quarter, at the time of the work of the painter Levé, February 10, 1777: "1 Ecuelle et plateau nouvelle forme fond vert/groupes/vu." The mention of "groups" refers to the cartels of "groups of flowers and fruits" beautifully composed on this piece.
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