SÈVRES Lot n° 269

Rare pair of soft-paste porcelain plates from a small service delivered in 1785 for Madame Victoire, daughter of Louis XV, at the Château de Versailles. These two country-style plates are decorated with polychrome flowers: in the center, a bouquet of roses in a medallion encircled by a blue fillet enhanced with gold; on the side, a blue festooned band with field flowers: beards, forget-me-nots, flowers, the end highlighted with blue and gold scrolls between two gold fillets. Bearing in blue on the reverse the intertwined LL, the letter date for the year 1785, and on one the painter's mark Melle Armand, active at the factory from 1774 to 1781, and on the other the mark of the painter Mme Bunel, active from 1775 to 1817. 18th century. H.: 2.7 cm - D.: 24.0 cm Intended for dessert service and described in the sales register as "Service Jardin", it comprised just forty-eight plates at 18 livres each, eight compotiers, two sugar bowls, two jam trays, fourteen ice-cream cups and their trays, an icebox and four refreshment buckets. It was purchased in December 1784 by Madame Victoire during the "Ventes à Crédit faite à Versailles". For this royal service used by Madame Victoire, daughter of Louis XV (1710-1774), and aunt of Louis XVI (1754-1793), only one plate dated 1785 and also decorated by Mme Bunel is preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Victoria and Albert Museum (C.1337-1919). Other "Jardin" services were subsequently produced at Sèvres, and several pieces on display at the Hermitage Museum come from a purchase made by Baron Otto Blome, Ambassador Extraordinary of the Danish Court in France. Provenance: Madame Victoire (1733-1799), daughter of Louis XV, at the Château de Versailles. BIBLIOGRAPHY: David Peters, Sèvres plates and services of the 18th century, 2015, vol. III, n° 85-11, pp. 781-782.