Royal Cup and Saucer in Sèvres Porcelain, First Grand Size

Gifted by Louis-Antoine d’Artois, Duke of Angoulême

Hard-paste porcelain litron-shaped cup and first grand-size saucer with a rich "beau bleu" ground, adorned with a scattered pattern of gilt fleurs-de-lys. The borders are decorated with a laurel leaf frieze in platinum above a beaded frieze in gold. The saucer is centered with the gilt Dauphin’s crown surrounded by a laurel wreath in platinum. The interior of the cup is fully gilt.
Excellent condition.
Royal Sèvres Manufactory, 1828.
Blue stamped mark with the royal cipher of King Charles X, dated (18)28; green handwritten date of mounting marked “17 January (18)18”; gilder's mark dated 30 September (1828?).

Dimensions:
Height: 8 cm; Diameter: 17 cm.

Provenance:
Very likely a gift from Louis-Antoine d’Artois, Duke of Angoulême (1775–1844), Dauphin of France (1824–1830).

Historical Notes:
Several litron cups and saucers with a rich blue ground and "fleurdelisé" decorations, often described as having “frieze and mosaic of fleurs-de-lys,” were individually entered into the Sèvres sales store during the Restoration period: four of first grand size on July 8, 1825; June 6, 1828; and December 19, 1828 (at 60 francs each); and one with a fitted case on March 13, 1829 (at 75 francs). Another was entered on December 4, 1829, and two second-grand-size examples on July 3 and December 21, 1829. One is described as “beau bleu ground, fleurs-de-lys, palmettes and laurel in platinum, fully gilt,” though it was of the second grand size and entered on May 11, 1829.

Although we have not been able to identify all of their recipients, several pieces are recorded in the sales registers as having been gifts from the Duke of Angoulême.

The size of both the cup and saucer is unusual for Sèvres, being larger than the standard fourth-grand-size litron cups (H. 6 x D. 13 cm) typically produced by the Manufactory. The use of fleurs-de-lys at Sèvres is rare; the combination of gilded motifs on a blue ground with platinum friezes exemplifies the refinement and high quality of royal gifts during the Bourbon Restoration.