The following three lots formed part of the celebrated Orloff service that was presented by Catherine the Great of Russia (1729-1779) to her favorite, Count Gregory Orloff, later Prince Orloff, in September 1772. It remained in his possession until his death in 1783 when the service returned to the Imperial household. The Empress had commissioned the service from the the Parisian goldsmiths Jacques and Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers on the suggestion of the French sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-1791). Jacques and Jacques-Nicolas, then Orfevres Ordinaires du Roi, acted as the main goldsmiths and co-ordinated the commisioning of the service. Several other leading Parisian goldsmiths were involved with the service including Edme-Pierre Balzac and his son-in-law Claude-Pierre Deville. The service was for sixty settings and was made up of approximately three thousand pieces, including eight soup tureens, eight pots-à-oille, eighty-four candlesticks, thirty-six candelabra and one hundred and twelve cloches. The larger pieces were in the neo-classical style and heavily decorated. There were also a large number of dishes and plates, such as the present lots, which were simpler and with more restrained decoration
A SET OF NINE LOUIS XV DINNER PLATES FROM THE ORLOFF SERVICE
Details
A SET OF NINE LOUIS XV DINNER PLATES FROM THE ORLOFF SERVICE
EIGHT WITH MAKER'S MARK OF CLAUDE-PIERRE DEVILLE, PARIS, 1771, ONE PARIS, 1770, MAKER'S MARK INDISTINCT
Shaped-circular and with moulded borders, marked on reverse, with later St. Petersburg control mark, circa 1785, and engraved with inventory numbers
25.5 cm (10 in)
5,484 gr (9)
EIGHT WITH MAKER'S MARK OF CLAUDE-PIERRE DEVILLE, PARIS, 1771, ONE PARIS, 1770, MAKER'S MARK INDISTINCT
Shaped-circular and with moulded borders, marked on reverse, with later St. Petersburg control mark, circa 1785, and engraved with inventory numbers
25.5 cm (10 in)
5,484 gr (9)