Pair of Sèvres Bisque Porcelain Swan Dishes and Saucers
View Similar Items
Pair of Sèvres Bisque Porcelain Swan Dishes and Saucers
About the Item
- Creator:Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 4 in (10.16 cm)Diameter: 6 in (15.24 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 2
- Style:Empire (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1800s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses. Minor structural damages. As found condition with areas of previous repair. Each swan and saucer varies slightly. Structurally sound.
- Seller Location:Stamford, CT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1860321041832
Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
A maker of exemplary European ceramics for hundreds of years, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres has produced porcelain of the highest quality since 1740.
The factory enjoyed royal patronage from its earliest days, and its most prominent patrons in the late 1700s — King Louis XV of France and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour — commissioned some of the period’s most elegant and striking pieces (only the truly wealthy could afford porcelain at this time). The company was originally established in Vincennes but was moved at the request of Madame de Pompadour, in 1756, to Sèvres, near Versailles, so that its operations would be closer to her château.
Sèvres became a mighty and much-revered factory working under a special grant from King Louis XV — the company’s owner as of 1759 and whose abundance of orders for special state gifts put financial strain on the company. Madame de Pompadour is said to have commissioned Sèvres to create an entire indoor garden of porcelain botanicals, for example.
While Sèvres gained a sterling reputation for its soft-paste porcelain wares, the company was late in entering into the production of hard-paste porcelain.
Hard-paste porcelain is the most common type of Chinese porcelain, then a widely exported and profitable product that was not made in Europe until the 18th century. The resources at Sèvres were largely relegated to meeting the demands of Louis XV, and secondly, it did not acquire the secret formula for hard-paste porcelain until 1761. Until it obtained the coveted secrets behind hard-paste porcelain from a chemist named Pierre-Antoine Hannong — and, years later, gained access to the elusive raw materials to make hard-paste porcelain — Sèvres produced soft-paste porcelain for decades that was widely celebrated but is comparatively a far weaker type as opposed to the hard-paste productions of the company’s rival, Meissen, in Saxony, the first to produce true porcelain outside of Asia.
The artisans at Sèvres applied the rarest and most difficult-to-produce colors to their decorative objects and dinner services. One such color, the bright bleu de roi, became the manufacturer’s signature shade and is found on many of their objects. Sèvres also experimented with rarely glazed or unglazed works that bore no decoration at all — bisque porcelain, French for “biscuit,” refers to unadorned white porcelain sculptures made at Sèvres that resemble white marble after being kiln-fired.
Sèvres marks were applied over the glaze or rendered with cuts by a sharp tool — authentic Sèvres porcelain is most commonly marked with two interlaced Ls that are painted in blue and enclose a third letter. Painters and potters were tasked with affixing marks to record their role in the creation of a particular piece, and as a lot of these artisans’ names are recorded in archival factory materials — and there is also much to be learned at the Sèvres museum — it’s likely that you can accurately identify your Sèvres piece.
Find antique and vintage Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres vases, urns, sculptures and more on 1stDibs.
- Antique English Lustreware Berry Saucer or Trinket DishLocated in Stamford, CTLate 19th century English soft paste porcelain lusterware saucer or trinket dish. Hand painted berry and vine motif. No makers mark or sig...Category
Antique Late 19th Century English Regency Decorative Bowls
MaterialsPorcelain
- Pair of 1920s English Chinese Vase Chinoiserie SaucersLocated in Stamford, CTPair of 1920s English chinoiserie Chinese vase motif saucers. Original condition with no visible signs of previous repairs. Illegible brand stamp on the underside.Category
Vintage 1920s English Chinoiserie Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Set of 4 Silver Plated Shell Candy DishesLocated in Stamford, CTSet of 4 silver plated shell candy dishes. Stamped on the underside “Made expressly for Douglass Lorie, Palm Beach Fla.”Category
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Decorative Bowls
MaterialsSilver Plate
- English Blue & White Pearlware Dishes, Set of 3Located in Stamford, CTSet of three English Regency blue & white pearlware leaf dishes. No makers mark or brand stamp.Category
Antique 1820s English Regency Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsPorcelain
- Coalport John Rose Thumb and Finger Pattern Teacup & SaucerBy John Rose, Coalport PorcelainLocated in Stamford, CTEarly 1800s Coalport John Rose Thumb and Finger teacup and saucer: Hand painted, richly colored and detailed cup and saucer with hand painted gold band. No makers mark or signature. ...Category
Antique Early 1800s English Regency Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Silver Plated Shell Form Candy Dishes or Ashtrays, PairLocated in Stamford, CTPair of silver plated shell candy dishes or ashtrays. No makers mark or brand stamp.Category
Vintage 1980s American Hollywood Regency Decorative Bowls
MaterialsSilver Plate
- Pair of Sevres Style Swan Cream CupsBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Copenhagen, KA beautiful pair of Sevres Style cream cups, in the form of gilded Swans.Category
Antique 18th Century and Earlier European Empire Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
$1,080 Sale Price / set22% Off - Pair of Sèvres Bisque Porcelain Winged Lions Bearing Gilt BasketsBy Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard 1Located in Paris, FRAfter a Model by Alexandre-Evariste Fragonard Rare Pair of Sèvres Bisque Porcelain Winged Lions Bearing Gilt Baskets Sèvres Royal Manufactory, Restoration period, circa 1...Category
Antique 1820s French Restauration Decorative Baskets
MaterialsPorcelain, Sèvres
- Sevres Porcelain Trembleuse Cup and Saucer First SizeBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Tunbridge Wells, GBHeading : 18th Century Sevres 1st Size Trembleuse Cup and Saucer Date : Late 18th Century c1790 Marks : Interlaced L mark in blue. Incised OO mark on b...Category
Antique 1790s French Porcelain
MaterialsPorcelain
- Sevres Hand Painted Matched Porcelain Cabinet Cup and SaucerBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in Bishop's Stortford, HertfordshireA fine antique French matched hand painted porcelain cabinet cup and saucer painted with various scenes by Sevres and dating from the latter 19th century. ...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Late Victorian Tea Sets
MaterialsPorcelain
- Pair of Paris Porcelain Botanical Dishes Painted by Feuillet, Circa 1850By Jean-Pierre FeuilletLocated in Katonah, NYThis pair of Paris porcelain botanical dishes each show a single exquisite plant with purple-pink flowers. The dishes were made by Feuillet and retail...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Decorative Dishes and Vide-...
MaterialsPorcelain
- Two Pairs of Derby Porcelain Shaped Dishes Hand-Painted England, Circa 1810By Crown DerbyLocated in Katonah, NYThis group of four Derby Porcelain dishes was hand-painted in England circa 1810. An exquisite design of curling feathers and neoclassical objects d...Category
Antique Early 19th Century English Regency Decorative Dishes and Vide-Poche
MaterialsPorcelain