MARK OF FREDERICK KANDLER, LONDON, 1771

These pot à oilles were made specifcally to serve oille, a meat ragout of Spanish origin, whereas shaped-oval tureens were used for soup. The pot à oille would have been part of a great number of varied dishes set out at the same time on a large table. When dining à la Française guests seated around the dining table could serve themselves from those dishes closest to them. Several dishes of the same food were placed at various points, so that no matter where a diner was seated he had a selection of dishes nearby. As the possibilities for display and grandeur at such dinners evolved, dishes were set out in symmetrical and increasingly intricate patterns, templates for which began to appear in courtly cookbooks and household management manuals.