This severely neo-classical shape of Ewer and Basin was called the Pot à Eau et Jatte, nouvelle forme at Sèvres in the 1790s. This one is exceptionally lavishly decorated with a very rare extent of simulated porphyry ground.
The flower painting is by Gilbert Drouet and the arabesques by François-Antoine Pfeiffer. This piece can be identified in the artist’s overtime payment records in January 1795.
The only well-known piece of Sèvres of this period with this bold porphyry ground is a possibly unique sun-dial in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Height of Ewer 25.2 cm
Width of Basin 40 cm
3009
Sold to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2004