125
A Sèvres Bleu Céleste Porcelain Seven-Piece Tea Service (Dejeuner \'Courteille\')
Estimate: $8,000-$12,000
Sold
$25,000
Live Auction
Property from the Fred and Kay Krehbiel Collection, Part I
Location
Chicago
Description
A Sèvres Bleu Céleste Porcelain Seven-Piece Tea Service (Dejeuner 'Courteille')
Circa 1780
each bearing blue interlaced Ls enclosing date letters cc below painter’s mark of a comma for Méreaud le jeune and above gilder’s mark '#' for Chavaux père, with various incised marks; painted with trailing flower garlands and wreaths, the shaped turquoise border richly gilt and chased with a laurel garland, echoing the shape of the border edged with a gilt ciselé band, comprising a shaped rectangular two-handled tray, a teapot and cover, a sugar bowl and cover and four cups and saucers; 7 items total.
Length of tray over handles 14 1/4 inches.
This lot is located in Chicago.
Condition
Teapot and cover: height 4 1/2 inches; incised 44 oo and 5.
Sugar bowl and cover: height 4 inches; incised 40 and a.
Four cans and saucers: height of cups 2 3/8 inches, each incised 48a; diameter of saucers 4 5/8 inches, each incised 48a.
Four cans and saucers: height of cups 2 3/8 inches, each incised 48a; diameter of saucers 4 5/8 inches, each incised 48a.
In overall good and stable condition. The tray with no incised marks, having a tiny nick to the edge of one handle terminal leaf, a touch of wear to the leaf terminal diagonally opposite, very very light surface scratching. The teapot and cover with minute nick to tip of spout. The sugar bowl and cover with wear to gilt dentil rim, gilting on the berry finial possibly refreshed.
Condition reports are available upon request. All lots are sold “as is,” in the condition they are in at the time of the auction. The physical condition of lots can vary due to age, normal wear and tear, previous damage, and restoration. Prospective buyers are strongly advised to inspect a lot personally or through a knowledgeable representative prior to bidding. The absence of any reference to the condition of a lot does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. Prospective buyers must review and agree to the Conditions of Sale before participating in an auction, and it is the responsibility of the buyer to ensure that they have requested, received and considered any condition report.
Provenance
Note:
A ‘déjeuner’ is the name given to a small tea or coffee set with a matching tray, the name for the overall set dictated by the shape name given the tray. In this case, it is a shaped serpentine rectangular tray or plateau ‘Courteille’ with rounded corners and angled side handles, named after the marquis de Courteille, the King’s representative in charge of the Vincennes/Sèvres manufactory, to whom the first example of this tray was presented in December 1753. Sales records show Déjeuner ‘Courteille’ produced from 1757 into the 1780s.
The selection of pieces making up the set can vary, as can the size and shape of the tray and of the individual pieces, the complement of pieces dictating the use for the déjeuner. The present déjeuner of a théière ‘Calabre’, 3ème grandeur, a pot à sucre ‘Bouret’, 2ème grandeur, and four gobelets ‘Litron’ et soucoupes, 3ème grandeur resting on a plateau ‘Courteille’ originally will have included a pot à lait à trois pieds, likely 2ème grandeur. The individual pieces comprising the set will have been completed at the same time by the same decorators, resulting in identical factory, painters and gilders marks on each piece, as is the case here. With four cups, it is the largest such service produced, although the cups themselves are likely the smallest.
Déjeuner ‘Courteille’ can be found in The Wallace Collection, the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, among others. Cf. Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection – Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, London, 1988, cat. no, C401-6, pp. 615-621; Linda H. Roth and Clare Le Corbeiller, French Eighteenth-Century Porcelain at the Wadsworth Atheneum – The J. Pierpont Morgan Collection, 2000, cat. no. 83, pp. 175-178.
Charles-Louis Méreaud le jeune (active 1756-1780) is recorded at Sèvres as a painter specializing in flowers and patterns. Michel-Barnabé Chavaux père (active 1752-1788) is recorded at Vincennes and at Sèvres as a gilder. Their work on the present déjeuner is typical of that found on tablewares of the late 1770s-1780s, showcasing their talent and expertise of their specialties honed over many years at the factory.