The Property of the ABERCORN HEIRLOOMS TRUSTEES
THE LOUIS XV SERVICE
The Vincennes factory produced service wares before the production of the Louis XV service although there were very few sales concerning whole services and nothing on the scale of the Louis XV service. This service was begun in 1753 and would be considered large, complex and extremely expensive even by the standards applying at the end of the century. The service, made exclusively for Louis XV who had become a quarter shareholder in the factory the previous year, was distinguished by the variety and quantity of its components together with its turquoise-blue ground colour.
The bleu celeste ground colour was well suited to the soft paste porcelain body and was later described by the factory's chemist, Jean Hellot, as 'le bleu du roy ou bleu turquoise du service complet de sa Majesté trouvé en 1753 par moi'. The composition of this colour consisted of three parts aquamarine and one part glaze mixed in a ratio of three to one with red lead, then melted, powdered and sieved twice onto a mordant coated on the glaze of the body to be coloured. The results often produced a blotchy consistency with pin-prick frit inclusions although of great richness. Later in the 1750's a greater percentage of glaze was included giving a less rich appearance. According to Hellot it would appear that the bleu celeste colour was created for and first used on the Louis XV service. See Tamara Préaud and Antoine d'Albis, La Porcelaine de Vincennes, p. 217.
In addition the service extended well beyond the size of any earlier service produced by the factory and marked the introduction of many new shapes. These were designed for the service by the goldsmith Jean-Claude Duplessis. In its original form the service included plates, fruit-dishes of nine different types, sugar-bowls, ice-cups, juice-pots, salts, mustard-pots, stew and soup-tureens, coolers, bowls, trays and baskets.
The Louis XV service had a rather curious career; from a distinctive beginning it eventually lapsed into relative obscurity. It was delivered to the King in three stages on 24 December 1753, 31 December 1754 and 31 December 1755. The first delivery was not entered into the sales registers until 30 June 1754, as the factory worked out the prices of the new shapes and ground colour. By January 1754 one hundred and twenty-one pieces had already been delivered. The service was supplemented in 1756 and 1757 via the marchand mercier Lazare Duvaux, who had been involved in the delivery of the service to Versailles and the arranging of a public display.
On about 28 May 1757, Louis XV disposed of part of the service through Duvaux to the Comte de Stainville, later duc de Choiseul-Stainville, protegé of Madame de Pompadour, he acquired 72 of the original 112 plates, 13 of the 30 fruit dishes, all of the corbeilles ovales, carrés and triangles and four of the corbeilles ovales élevées. The principle part of the service remained with Louis XV and further supplements purchased in 1771 and 1773 suggest the service was moved to the Château de Bellevue, former home of Madame de Pompadour. However an inventory for 16 June 1778 of stored Sèvres porcelain at the Château de Petit Trianon records a large service with close parallels to the Louis XV service although no baskets were included in this inventory. Finally in 1784 and 1787 the marchand François-Charles Bazin purchased bleu celeste service-ware probably part of the Louis XV service. It can perhaps be inferred from the Bazin purchases, that by the 1780's, Louis XVI had disposed of the rest of the service for which there are no apparent supplements in the sales registers after 1779.
It was not until the 1980's that the service emerged from the shadows and received greater recognition for its place in the development of the factory style. A large number of the components survive including quite a sizeable part of the Comte de Stainville's purchase at Boughton House, see Rosalind Savill 'Le Service de Table de Louis XV' Dossier d'Art, no. 15, November-December 1993, pl.I, p.17. It is possible that this group of porcelain from the Louis XV service was acquired by the Duke of Abercorn at the same time and from the same source as those at Boughton House. Very few pieces have appeared on the market: a hexafoil basket was sold by Sotheby's New York on 20 May 1989, lot 72, a large dish, Sotheby's London, sale 15 June 1993, lot 253 and a plat d'hors d'oeuvres was sold in these Rooms on 30 September 1991, lot 109.
A VINCENNES BLEU CELESTE FLUTED SAUCER-DISH FROM THE LOUIS XV SERVICE (compotier mosaïque), the centre painted with a bouquet of fruit and flowers within a broad diaper and flowerhead-moulded border reserved with four lobed oval panels of trailing flowers flanked by gilt trailing flowers and scrolls within shaped gilt line rims (very minor rubbing to gilt rim), circa 1753
Details
A VINCENNES BLEU CELESTE FLUTED SAUCER-DISH FROM THE LOUIS XV SERVICE (compotier mosaïque), the centre painted with a bouquet of fruit and flowers within a broad diaper and flowerhead-moulded border reserved with four lobed oval panels of trailing flowers flanked by gilt trailing flowers and scrolls within shaped gilt line rims (very minor rubbing to gilt rim), circa 1753
22cm. diam.
22cm. diam.
Literature
Rosalind Savill, 'Le Service de Table de Louis XV', Dossier de L'Art, no. 15, November-December 1993, pl. 4, pp.19-21
Probably delivered to the King on 24 December 1753. It was one of the four compotiers mosaïque which cost 120 livres each
Probably delivered to the King on 24 December 1753. It was one of the four compotiers mosaïque which cost 120 livres each