Bolvry cup and saucer in Sèvres porcelain

Cup (or mug) named Bolvry with a slightly raised band and hard porcelain saucer, decorated with polychrome “rich arabesques on a gold background” on an amati gold background.

Manufactured in SÈVRES
Circa 1789
On the reverse, gold-plated mark of “LL” intertwined and surmounted by a crown
Mark of the painter Nicolas Sinsson (active 1773-1795)
Mark of the gilder André-Joseph La France (active 1776-1803 and 1813-1828)


Charles-François Bolvry (1738-1806) is likely the creator of the shape. Drawings preserved in the archives of the National Museum of Sèvres show designs for “Bolvry goblets.”
The highly ornamental decoration, consisting of garlands, vases, and antique busts set against a rich gold background, is entirely in keeping with the tastes of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The Journal des travaux des peintres, doreurs, brunisseurs (Journal of the work of painters, gilders, and burnishers) mentions, on May 16, 1789, “four Bolvry cups with ‘very rich gold background arabesques’” (M.N.S., archives, Vj' 4).