Lot Essay
Given the dating and quality of the present ewer, the painting is likely to be by Andr-Vincent Vielliard, pre. Although there were available a wide range of engraved enfants Boucher, it is most likely that the subjects on the present lot were taken directly from drawings by the master in the possession of the factory.
The factory sales records for 31 December 1753 note as having been delivered to M. Duvaux: "1 pot a l'eau tourne 1ere grandeur, bleu celeste enfans colores + 1 jatte ovale idem .........600 livres".
By turn, Lazard Duvaux in his Livre Journal notes under February 1754: "S.M.le Roy: un pot a l'eau & jatte de porcelaine de Vincennes, fond bleu celeste avec des fujets d'enfans (sic).....600 l(ivres) __ la monture du dit pot en or, 140l(ivres)".
This may be a duplicate of an entry for December 1753 invoicing the king for a similarly described pot, unmounted. A further entry for February 1758 registers a return for a small repair: "Raccommode la garniture en or d'un pot a l'eau, fourni un vis et ecrous, 6 l(ivres)". The Livre Journal notes several other entries for gold mounts to pots, all costing between 115 and 140 livres.
Given the size, decoration and quality of the present gold-mounted example, it is almost certainly the one sold to the king by the marchand mercier Duvaux in February 1754.
The factory sales records for 31 December 1753 note as having been delivered to M. Duvaux: "1 pot a l'eau tourne 1ere grandeur, bleu celeste enfans colores + 1 jatte ovale idem .........600 livres".
By turn, Lazard Duvaux in his Livre Journal notes under February 1754: "S.M.le Roy: un pot a l'eau & jatte de porcelaine de Vincennes, fond bleu celeste avec des fujets d'enfans (sic).....600 l(ivres) __ la monture du dit pot en or, 140l(ivres)".
This may be a duplicate of an entry for December 1753 invoicing the king for a similarly described pot, unmounted. A further entry for February 1758 registers a return for a small repair: "Raccommode la garniture en or d'un pot a l'eau, fourni un vis et ecrous, 6 l(ivres)". The Livre Journal notes several other entries for gold mounts to pots, all costing between 115 and 140 livres.
Given the size, decoration and quality of the present gold-mounted example, it is almost certainly the one sold to the king by the marchand mercier Duvaux in February 1754.