Lot Essay
Louis-Denis Armand l'Ainé, active at Sèvres as a bird painter from circa 1745-circa 1779, has recently been identified as The Cresent Painter, an identity previously ascribed to Jean-Pierre Ledoux.
The present tray was designed for the lower gallery of a table en chiffonière. Cf. Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of the Sèvres Porcelain, London, 1988, vol. I cat. no. 491, vol. II, pp. 1044, 1092 for an upper gallery tray with marks identical to those found on the present example which is also painted with exotic birds within a landscape.
The BP mark, possibly for Baptiste Paris who was active at Sèvres from 1754-1764, is found incised in soft-paste wares from 1754-1772. According to Miss Savill, it is most commonly seen on pieces made prior to 1764 and often on plateaux 'Courteille'.
The present tray was designed for the lower gallery of a table en chiffonière. Cf. Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of the Sèvres Porcelain, London, 1988, vol. I cat. no. 491, vol. II, pp. 1044, 1092 for an upper gallery tray with marks identical to those found on the present example which is also painted with exotic birds within a landscape.
The BP mark, possibly for Baptiste Paris who was active at Sèvres from 1754-1764, is found incised in soft-paste wares from 1754-1772. According to Miss Savill, it is most commonly seen on pieces made prior to 1764 and often on plateaux 'Courteille'.