On offer is a spectacular set of 6 plates made by Sèvres in 1847. These plates form part of the "Royal Hunting Service", a massive service commissioned by King Louis Philippe at the château de Fontainebleau in 1846 for use after large hunting parties.
Sèvres porcelain is among the most famous in the world. The French factory started in the 1740s in Vincennes, to be moved to Sèvres in the 1750 under the protection of Madame de Pompadour, the chief mistress of Louise XV and great benefactor to French art and culture.
The plates have a band of fabulous hunting scenes full of animals and meandering foliage and trailing branches, a gilt geometric pattern on the inside to the centre of each item, which has a rich gilt pattern surrounding a star. There are small reserves of iron red medaillons of trophies. The animals portrayed are fantastic dogs, boars, birds of pray, snakes, pheasants and deer, some hunting each other, others running by themselves. The decoration has very rich autumnal colours.
As King Louis Philippe had to abdicate and flee France in 1847, it is likely that the service was sold off like so many other French treasures of the time. Today many parts pop up elsewhere in the world.
The items are marked with the red Fontainebleau mark, inscribed Sèvres marks with the month and year of production, and blue and green Sèvres...
Category
French Louis Philippe Antique 1840s Dinner Plates