Antique French Sevres Porcelain Cabaret Set, circa 1900

$4,711.50List Price

About the Item

This is an absolutely fabulous antique hand-painted sevres porcelain cabaret set, comprising a tray, two coffee cups with saucers, a coffee pot, a sugar bowl with lid and a cream jug, circa 1900 in date. Each piece is hand-painted by Guillon,with a different chateau, and bearing his signature. All pieces have really superb gilded decoration on a beautiful "Bleu Cobalt" ground. All pieces bear the interlaced L mark for Sevres and the name of the Chateau in puce script on the reverse. The ch teaux depicted are: The Ch teau de Chenonceau is a French ch teau spanning the River Cher, near the small village of Chenonceaux in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It is one of the best-known ch teaux of the Loire valley. The Ch teau de Malmaison is a French ch teau. It is located near the western bank of the Seine about 15 kilometres west of the centre of Paris in Rueil-Malmaison. Formerly the residence of Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, along with the Tuileries it was the headquarters of the French government from 1800 to 1802, and Napoleon's last residence in France at the end of the Hundred Days in 1815. The Ch teau d'Azay-le-Rideau is located in the town of Azay-le-Rideau in the French département of Indre-et-Loire. Built between 1518 and 1527, this ch teau is considered one of the foremost examples of early French Renaissance architecture. Set on an island in the middle of the Indre river, this picturesque ch teau has become one of the most popular of the ch teaux of the Loire valley. The Ch teau de Maintenon is a ch teau, developed from the original castle, situated in the commune of Maintenon in the Eure-et-Loir département of France. It is best known as being the private residence of the second spouse of Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon.The castle has been classified as a Monument historique since 1944 by the French Ministry of Culture. The Ch teau de Brissac is a French ch teau in the commune of Brissac-Quincé, located in the département of Maine-et-Loire, France. The property is owned by the Cossé-Brissac family, whose head bears the French noble title of Duke of Brissac. The ch teau is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. The Ch teau de Chantilly is a historic ch teau located in the town of Chantilly, France. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Ch teau built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency, and the Grand Ch teau, which was destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s.Owned by the Institut de France, the ch teau houses the Musée Condé. It is one of the finest art galleries in France[citation needed] and is open to the public. Condition: In really excellent condition, with no chips, cracks or repairs, please see photos for confirmation. Dimensions in cm: Height 3 x Width 45 x Depth 34, tray. Height 16 coffee pot and lid. Height 12 sugar bowl and lid. Height 10 cream jug. Height 7 cup and saucer. Dimensions in inches: Height 1 inch x width 1 foot, 6 inches x depth 1 foot, 1 inch, tray. Height 6 inches coffee pot and lid. Height 5 inches sugar bowl and lid. Height 4 inches cream jug. Height 3 inches cup and saucer. Sevres porcelain, traces its roots in France to early craftsmen who had small manufacturing operations in such places as Lille, Rouen. St. Cloud, and most notably Chantilly. It is from Chantilly that a cadre of workers migrated to the Chateau de Vincennes near Paris to form a larger porcelain manufactory in 1738. French King Louis XV, perhaps inspired by his rumoured relationship with mistress Madame de Pompadour, took an intense interest in porcelain and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres. Sevres was also conveniently near the home of Madame de Pompadour and the King's own Palace at Versailles. From the outset the king's clear aim was to produce Sevres Porcelain that surpassed the established Saxony works of Meissen and Dresden. Though the French lacked an ample supply of kaolin, a required ingredient for hard-paste porcelain (pate dure), their soft-paste porcelain (pate tendre) was fired at a lower temperature and was thus compatible with a wider variety of colours and glazes that in many cases were also richer and more vivid. Unglazed white Sevres Porcelain "biscuit" figurines were also a great success. However, soft-paste Sevres Porcelain was more easily broken. Therefore, early pieces of Sevres Porcelain that remain intact have become rare indeed. The Sevres Porcelain manufactory always seemed to be in dire financial straits despite the incredibly Fine works it produced. In fact, the king's insistence that only the finest items be created may have contributed to the difficulties. Only a limited number of European nobility could afford the extravagant prices demanded for such works. King Louis XV and eventually his heir, the ill-fated Louis XVI, were obliged to invest heavily in the enterprise. Ultimately, the Sevres Porcelain Factory produced items under the name of "Royal" and thus the well-known Sevres mark was born. King Louis XV even mandated laws that severely restricted other porcelain production in France so as to retain a near monopoly for his Sevres Porcelain. The king even willingly became chief salesman for the finest of his products, hosting an annual New Year's Day showing for French nobility in his private quarters at Versailles. He eagerly circulated among potential buyers, pitching the merits of ownership and policing the occasional light-fingered guest. Sevres Porcelain may have indeed given the makers of Meissen and Dresden a run for their money by the end of the 18th Century but for the French Revolution. By 1800, the Sevres Porcelain Works were practically out of business due to the economic devastation of the new French Republic. About the time when Napoleon Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France (1804), a new director was named for the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory. Alexandre Brongniart, highly educated in many fields, resurrected Sevres Porcelain. Soft-paste porcelain was eliminated altogether thanks to the earlier discovery of kaolin near Limoges. For four decades until his death, Brongniart presided over monumental progress for Sevres Porcelain, catering not only to Napoleon himself, but at last to include the more financially profitable mid-priced market in the emerging middle class.

Dimensions:
Height: 1.19 in (3 cm)Width: 17.72 in (45 cm)Depth: 13.39 in (34 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 8
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1900-1909
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1900
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 078411stDibs: LU95066213153

A fine silver mounted Sèvres- style porcelain cabaret set. The Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory was founded to the east of Paris in the disused Royal Château of Vincennes, late in 173...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century French Porcelain

Materials

Porcelain

$3,520 Sale Price / set

20% Off

H 11.03 in Dm 6.7 in

Antique Spode Dollar Pattern Coffee Cups, Set of 9, English Porcelain Circa 1820

By Spode

Located in Katonah, NY

Perfect for a double espresso! These nine "Dollar" pattern porcelain coffee cups are handpainted in the exquisite "Dollar" pattern. Spode made this set in England circa 1820. The dec...

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