Calabre teapot in Sèvres porcelain

Covered Calabre teapot in soft-paste porcelain, decorated in black monochrome, known as grisaille, on one side with a hunter seated against a tree, holding a flask in his hand, and on the other with a chicken thief, within medallions bordered by broad gilt bands standing out against a lapis-blue ground decorated with leafy scrolls and garlands on a gold ground. An antique vase motif is depicted in the gilding above the spout.
Circa 1785
Marks of the interlaced LLs on a black ground, date-letter HH for the year 1785 on the reverse.
Mark of the painter François-Pascal Philippine (active 1778–1791).
The black monochrome used for the scenes is a precious testimony to the use and quality of this color, employed from the 1760s onward and extremely rare at Sèvres in the 18th century.