A SEVRES PORCELAIN PINK-GROUND PLATE FROM THE DUC DE RICHELIEU SERVICE (ASSIETTE A PALMES)

CIRCA 1758, BLUE INTERLACED L MARKS ENCLOSING DATE LETTER E, INCISED E

Details

The centre painted with a loose bouquet of flowers, the border with three scroll-moulded gilt cartouches edged in carmine, painted with vignettes of colourful birds perched on branches, within a gilt-lined rim
9 3/8 in. (24.7cm.) wide
Provenance

Acquired by the duc de Richelieu (1696-1788) in 1759.
With Vandermeersch, Paris, according to paper label.
Lot Essay

Madame Duvaux, widow of the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux, acquired the service for delivery to 'M. le Maréchal de Richelieu' in 1759 and it appears in sales entry no. 3320 of 9th January 1759 in the Livre-Journal de Lazare Duvaux. David Peters discusses the service and its numerous supplements in detail; he notes that the original delivery included only 24 assiettes at a high cost of 60 livres each, see Sèvres Plates and Services of the Eighteenth Century, Little Berkhamsted, 2015, Vol. II, pp. 311-313. In the sales return list of Madam Duvaux for the period 1758-1759, the decoration is described as 'Rozes fleurs' or just 'Rozes', see Peters, Ibid., 2015, p. 311. This service was made shortly after the invention of a pink ground colour, in 1757 and is one of only two important early pink ground services produced before 1760. The distinctive carmine edging used around the gilding which is characteristic of many pink ground wares, is believed to prevent the gilding from discolouring the pink ground, while also creating depth to intricate gilding patterns. Although popular, it was in use for a short production period as it proved an expensive ground colour.
Louis-François-Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, the maréchal-duc de Richelieu was a soldier, statesman and a diplomat, and he was eventually appointed Marshal of France. Richelieu was an important figure at Court and a close friend of Louis XV. At the time of the delivery to the maison Duvaux in 1759, he was governor of Guienne and was moving between Bordeaux, Paris and Versailles.
See the plate also from the first delivery to Richelieu, sold Bonhams, London on 5 July 2018, lot 194. A 1758 compotier coqueille from this service was sold Christie's, Paris, 7-21 November 2023, lot 470.