CIRCA 1776, BLUE INTERLACED L'S AND PAINTER'S MARK FOR TAILLANDIER TO EACH, ONE WITH ORIGINAL PAPER LABEL FRON THE SÈVRES SALESROOM PRINTED IN IRON-RED WITH ELABORATE INTERLACED L'S, TWO WITH SERRATED OVAL PAPER INVENTORY LABELS INSCRIBED IN INK 28Y12/4320Y 4

The present plaques, slightly convex in profile, were conceived as furniture mounts, their bowed profile necessary to complete the form of the chest or table into which they were destined to be set. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a jardinière by furniture maker Martin Carlin set with eight plaques identical in decoration and marks to the present examples. Each also retains its original paper label noting the price of each plaque at either 72 or 60 livres.

The Sèvres sales records note the sale and delivery in the second half of 1776 to the marchands merciers Poirier and Daguerre of two lots of plaques bombées at these prices. The present plaques could be part of this group. Likewise, a jardinière by Lannuier in the collection of Mrs. Merriweather Post at Hillwood Museum, is similarly mounted, the four plaques larger than those either on the Carlin table or than the present set of four.