Gobelet à la Reine et soucoupe

Conversely conical cup with barrel. Decor of green fund painting where there is a saved image field with flying birds in colours melted in the glaze. Gift for Wilhelmina von Hallwyl from her husband, Walther von Hallwyl, Christmas Eve 1897. The factory was founded in 1738 in Vincennes, transferred in 1756 to Sèvres. Marques: Tasse: en creux: dj ou 53; de fabrication: il ne reste que la trace de la marque aux deux L; Soucoupe: en creux: cercle renfermant une croix (1); fabrication: double L et lettre-date D; sorte d 'épée en bleu (2) Etat: La marque de fabrication en bleu a disparu sur la tasse, ne laissant que son ôme à peine visible dans la couverte. De même, le décor en or a disparu en plusieurs endroits sur la tasse et la soucoupe; on en voit la trace dans la couverte. Nombreux points noirs dans la pâte de la soucoupe. The shape of this cup, À la Reine, was created early in Vincennes, as it is already mentioned in the inventory of October 1752 with variants decorated with rings in relief at the top and bottom of the cup and in a larger size, so-called milk cup (3). It also appeared with different types of ears. It is unclear whether the allusion to the queen is to be interpreted as a tribute or whether it is a model that was commissioned, or appreciated, by the queen. The green bottom colour is one of Vincennes’s most appealing inventions. The first attempts to obtain this colour began in 1753, but production started seriously only in 1756. This specimen shows a particularly successful and clear nuance. However, the gilder was not adept enough to avoid a chemical reaction to the decor, which made him have to paint on a slightly coloured etch liquid, based on garlic and onions dissolved in vinegar - the chemist of the factory, Jean Hellot, warned of the long-lasting and horrified odour that stains on clothes could cause - and then sprinkle with gold stone on the binder. If the gold was not sufficiently burdensome, there was the risk, as in this case, that it was dissolved at the time of burning. Decors with birds are another important nude from Vincennes but the imaginative coloring makes it difficult to identify any specific species. The painters were inspired both by oriental ceramics and varnishes as well as by the engravings of the 1600s in Europe. Only later in the century did ornithological engravings begin to be used and the bird species were named on the back of the objects. A queen cup of the second size with birds against the green bottom costing 51 francs is found in the stock inventory from 1 January 1774 (4). (1) Savill notes the existence of this brand on copper with barrels from the 1750s (Savill, 1988, p. 1135). (2) The signature of the Bird, Animal and Flower Painter Étienne Evans, active 1752-1786 (Peters, 1997, p. 33). Price: 225 Mk. See Rescontra Walther v.H 12 Nov 1897.