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Sevres Gobelet de la toilette


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This item has been sold
Dates Circa 1795 - 1798
Origin France
Description A fine Sèvres Gobelet de la nouvelle toilette (Beaker, cover and stand) painted by Bouillat père, with still life flower ‘tableaux’ after the paintings of Cornelis or Gerard van Spaendonck.

The cup and saucer is marked with interlaced ‘L’s and the initials QQ? for 1793; a script Sèvres for 1793-1804; y for Edmè-Francois Bouillat père (1758-1810); incised with the numerals 40.
Literature Report compiled by Mr David Peters

Gobelet de la toilette

Surface decoration and body

Pale blue (petit bleu or bleu pâle) ground, canted-corner rectangular reserves with full-colour panels of flowers on table tops, gilt band frames, and gilt scale gilding on ground.

The reserve decoration was generally termed cartels histories, signifying rich panels without specifying the content.

The decoration appears to reside in the period 1790 to 1800 and perhaps in the second half, particularly 1795-98, when cartels of that kind were prevalent.

The gilding, in terms of colour, quality of execution and tooling, is of very high quality and seems entirely consistent with better-quality Sèvres work. The tooled motif on the cartel frames is in line with 1795-1800 style. The graduation of the scale pattern on the ground colour is particularly controlled. The quality of the decoration seems economically beyond the scope of any C18th Paris factory or any French factory from a later period. The scattered gilt motifs in the well of the saucer is also a typical Sèvres characteristic on later ground-colour items, as is the berried foliate trail on the cup foot.

The item bears the mark of E-F Bouillat or his wife and the flower decoration, with pallid tones and a wash background, is consistent with the flower/landscape decoration by E-F Bouillat from the late 1780s on. The decorative subject matter excludes his wife, who did not work - was not appropriately paid - for that level of subject matter.

The body is soft-paste porcelain with ferrous residue in the saucer suspension bore, consistent with Sèvres factory firing practice.

The gobelet de la toilette shape, dating from the early 1780s, was an uncommon form employed (subsequent to first appearance in a gift toilet set) for individual decoration, almost certainly to provide cabinet (display) pieces with no intended utility.

There is nothing in the form, porcelain body and surface decoration to readily suggest anything other than a very high-quality product of the Sèvres factory from, most probably, the 1790s, perhaps between 1795 and 1798.

Marks

This piece has curious marking, albeit only on the saucer. The cup bears a blue Republican-period script ‘Sevres’ and lower case ‘y’ for, as suggested above, E-F Bouillat. This marking attracts no questions with respect to execution and appropriateness.

The saucer bears the same mark, which is centred in the underside well and also attracts no questions. The tone of the blue and execution correspond with that on the cup, allowing that the mark on the cup is in a relatively deep recess and consequently executed less fluidly. The saucer also bears a second mark, below the centred mark and in a darker/duller tone of blue. It is a crossed Ls royal-period factory mark containing double date letters, seemingly lower-case ‘aa’ and painter’s mark ‘y’ below. The style of the ‘y’ is again consistent with that of E-F Bouillat or his wife. The date letters, if they are ‘aa’, are not appropriate to either the form of the item or the decoration.

If the date letters of the second mark on the saucer were to be interpreted differently, in particular as ‘qq’ (although the style of the letters does not particularly invite such an interpretation), this might imply an item decorated partly in the royal period and completed in the Revolutionary period, therefore in September 1793. Double-marking of items decorated at that time is known and attached is a copy of the mark on a plate in the Hillwood collection with royal-period mark containing ‘qq’ and Revolutionary-period mark of script ‘Sevres’ and script ‘R.F.’. However, the royal-period mark, which necessarily precedes, is centred and the Revolutionary period mark added around it. This does not apply to the two marks on the saucer of the item under discussion, where the royal-period mark is off-centre and evidently an afterthought.

In addition, although in the second mark (royal-period mark) on the saucer the ‘y’ is consistent with the Bouillat mark, the placement of the ‘y’ and the date letters is not. In this connection, attached is a copy of a mark (manuscript notes) from an E-F Bouillat plate of 1793 showing long-tail lower-case ‘qq’ to one side of crossed Ls and ‘y’ painter’s mark on the other side. This is the usual style of the E-F Bouillat mark and significantly differs from the second mark on the saucer.

These considerations do not suggest that the second mark on the saucer is genuine. It should be noted that this mark does not appear on the cup, which has less area on the underside. In the case of the saucer it might not be difficult to add a second mark within the foot rim, reglaze this confined area and refire at low temperature, although there is no evidence that this has happened.

The possibility of activities of this kind is suggested by the attached copy of an extract from a Sotheby’s, London, sales catalogue of 11.12.1931, lot 20, which relates to a circa 1797-98 part-service with bleu céleste and polychrome flower trail decoration. This service is problematic inasmuch as although it is documented in the Sèvres records the surviving elements comprise genuine components, adulterated components and fake components. The description of lot 20 ascribes dates 1778 (‘aa’) and 1780 (‘cc’) to a number of items, which must relate to fake marks. Some items (underlined in red) evidently bore both date letters for 1778 and 1780 - and therefore fake royal-period marks, i.e. crossed Ls - and also the word ‘Sevres’, thus a Revolutionary-period mark. These particular items must have been double-marked in a similar way to the saucer under discussion. Apart from the brief opportunity in or around September 1793 for double marking, such double marking would normally only arise from application of an earlier mark to a later piece to give it the perceived glamour of an earlier royal-period production. Since the script mark ‘Sevres’ did not particularly detract from the perception it did not need to be removed. The converse situation applied in the 1790s when royal-period marks were obliterated to remove the royal connection.

Whilst this is merely a tentative explanation for the double marking on the saucer it is significant that the apparently added marks on the Sotheby’s items also had date letters ‘aa’ and that, it seems, original Revolutionary-period marks were not removed.

Records

A study of Sèvres records has not produced any helpful entries.

i) Artists’ Ledgers:

The salaried records of E-F Bouillat from 1782 to floréal IV did not contain any entry relevant to gobelets de la toilette et soucoupes. The overtime records, apart from 1793-94, were not studied. The Artists’ Ledgers records after year IV are not (it is believed) available on microfilm and the original Ledgers have to be consulted at the Sèvres archives. These have been consulted (by the writer) only for servicewares. It is considered that the cup and saucer under discussion are more likely to be post year IV (1795-96) in date.

ii) Kiln firings:

A study from 1.1.1792 to year VII did not reveal any relevant entries. It is notoriously difficult to make identifications from these records, which, it is now suspected, may relate to only one of at least two kilns.

The study focused on the designation “gobelet de la toilette”, but this designation ceased to appear after year II. Either production ceased or a different designation was used. Entries relating to “tasses à pied” were noted, which is an appropriate description, but could equally well denote a quite different shape.

The recorded Kiln Books entries were:

22 frimaire II 2 gobelets de la toilette Etoffe d’or etc - - Le Grand

22 frimaire II 4 gobelets de la toilette Arab ... Levé Vandé

24 pluviôse II 2 gobelets de la toilette Etoffe et frize Laroche Vandé

24 pluviôse II 1 gobelet de la toilette fond et arabesque Chaponet Vincent

15 prairial II 1 gobelet de la toilette a ... roses Sinnesson -

15 prairial II 1 gobelet de la toilette Enfans allegories etc Didier Vandé

14 thermidor II 1 gobelet de la toilette et soucoupe Allégories Didier Vandé

14 thermidor II 1 gobelet de la toilette Allégories de repassage [refiring]

3 messidor V 3 tasses à pied f[ond] bleu Paisages guirlandes Bouillat Prevost

3 messidor V 2 tasses à pied f[ond] verd chinois Legrand Legrand

13 thermidor V 1 tasse à pied fond verd chinois Legrand Legrand

These entries show gobelets de la toilette being produced as display items, with decoration including rich subject matter of variable kind (‘Etoffe’), chinoiseries and allegories (probably with Revolutionary themes).



David Peters

Provenance From the collection of an English Lord