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Lot Essay
Emmanuel Armand de Wignerod du Plessis de Richelieu, duc d'Aiguillon (1720-1782) was the nephew of the Maréchal de Richelieu and a statesman in his own right. He was also a member of the parti dévot and, as such, was opposed to parlement, the Jansenists, and to Mme. de Pompadour. With the reorganization of the government by Louis XV in an attempt to suppress the parlement's resistance, the duc was appointed Minister of Foreign Affaires, a post he held but for a few short years. With Louis XV's death in 1774 came disagreements with his fellow ministers and with the new young queen who demanded his dismissal. D'Aiguillon left the ministry, his fortunes declined and he died in obscurity a few short years later.
The present bowls are from a service of some 226 pieces, described in the Sèvres sales registers as service à guirlandes de fleurs coloriées et point d'Espagne en or delivered to the duc d'Aiguillon 28 September 1773 at a cost of 17,616 livres. For unknown reasons (perhaps the loss of his position as minister), the service was returned to the factory and d'Aiguillon received a refund of 7,734 livres. The factory augmented with supplemental wares the pieces that were returned and, on 20 August 1781, sold about two-thirds of what remained of the service to the marchand-mercier Keindal & Casanova, who in turn sold the majority on to the Marquess of Bath. 123 pieces remain at Longleat House, Wiltshire.
Of the third remaining at the factory, various pieces were sold off to distinguished clients. A soup-tureen, cover and stand is today in the collection of the Musée Nationale de la Cèramique at Sèvres. A pair of bottle coolers from the collection of Dr. Henry A. Chase, New York, sold Sotheby's, New York, 20 May 1989, lot 82.
The present bowls are from a service of some 226 pieces, described in the Sèvres sales registers as service à guirlandes de fleurs coloriées et point d'Espagne en or delivered to the duc d'Aiguillon 28 September 1773 at a cost of 17,616 livres. For unknown reasons (perhaps the loss of his position as minister), the service was returned to the factory and d'Aiguillon received a refund of 7,734 livres. The factory augmented with supplemental wares the pieces that were returned and, on 20 August 1781, sold about two-thirds of what remained of the service to the marchand-mercier Keindal & Casanova, who in turn sold the majority on to the Marquess of Bath. 123 pieces remain at Longleat House, Wiltshire.
Of the third remaining at the factory, various pieces were sold off to distinguished clients. A soup-tureen, cover and stand is today in the collection of the Musée Nationale de la Cèramique at Sèvres. A pair of bottle coolers from the collection of Dr. Henry A. Chase, New York, sold Sotheby's, New York, 20 May 1989, lot 82.