Sèvres porcelain plate from the service of the Vicomte de Chateaubriand

An exceptional hard-paste porcelain plate made by the Royal Sèvres Manufactory during the Bourbon Restoration. The plate belongs to the renowned “Lapis corbeille de fleurs” service ordered by the Vicomte de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), French ambassador to the UK. At the center is a finely painted floral bouquet framed by a simulated basketweave in gold and brown, surrounded by a rich lapis blue ground and gilt decoration.

Marks: Interlaced LL, fleur-de-lis, “Sèvres” in blue; 17jn 18 in green. around 1820
Diameter: 24 cm
Condition: Very good condition. Bright glaze and original gilding remain intact.

Provenance
These plates are part of a service listed as number 12 in the 1819 records (Archives M.N.S., Carton Pb4, 1819 works), referred to as Lapis corbeille de fleurs (lapis-blue flower basket).
The service was exhibited at the 1819 Exposition des produits de l’Industrie (Industrial Products Exhibition), and later entered the Sèvres manufactory’s sales inventory on November 10, 1820. It was described as: “lapis-blue ground, baskets painted in shaded gold, with groups of flowers in the center” (Archives MNS, V1, fol. 150v, no. 140).
The complete service included: 99 flat plates priced at 40 francs each, ten hemispherical bowls at 40 francs each, four compotiers at 160 francs, two sugar bowls at 150 francs, two “Jasmin” baskets at 120 francs, and two ice pails at 325 francs each.
The service was offered and delivered on April 15, 1822, to the Vicomte de Chateaubriand (1768–1848), who was then the French ambassador to England.
Three additional deliveries followed between May 2, 1822, and August 21, 1823.
Part of this service appeared at public auction at Christie’s London on July 1, 1985 (lot 1). Several pieces from the service were also featured in the exhibition The Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory: Alexandre Brongniart and the Triumph of Art and Industry, 1800–1847, at the Bard Graduate Center in New York, and are illustrated and discussed in the catalogue by Tamara Préaud, pp. 363–364.