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Lot Essay
From its inception, the Vincennes porcelain factory established itself as a rival to Meissen for the manufacture of porcelain flowerheads. In 1747 the Queen acquired a bouquet de fleurs en porcelaine and Louis XV himself followed her lead the following year. In 1749, this Royal patronage culminated in the Dauphine Marie-Josephe de Saxe's commission of an enormous bouquet, which she sent to her father, Augustus III of Saxony, to prove that Vincennes had not only matched Meissen's technical brilliance - but had arguably surpassed it.
As the Livre-journal of Lazare Duvaux reveals, the marchand-merciers were quick to adopt this new fashion, applying porcelain flowerheads to any number of objets d'art, particularly wall-lights. Amongst those who acquired such wall-lights were Louis XV, the Dauphine and Madame de Pompadour and although this fashion faded soon after the shift of production to Sèvres in 1756, Madame Infante Louise-Elizabeth de France, duchesse de Parme (1727-1759) is known to have acquired a set of four for Versailles as late as 1759. Delivered by Testard, a pair of these latter wall-lights from Colorno was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 31 October 1996, lot 265.
As the Livre-journal of Lazare Duvaux reveals, the marchand-merciers were quick to adopt this new fashion, applying porcelain flowerheads to any number of objets d'art, particularly wall-lights. Amongst those who acquired such wall-lights were Louis XV, the Dauphine and Madame de Pompadour and although this fashion faded soon after the shift of production to Sèvres in 1756, Madame Infante Louise-Elizabeth de France, duchesse de Parme (1727-1759) is known to have acquired a set of four for Versailles as late as 1759. Delivered by Testard, a pair of these latter wall-lights from Colorno was sold anonymously in these Rooms, 31 October 1996, lot 265.