Literature

In 1758 Louis XV's daughter Madame Adélaïde gave her elder sister Madame Louise Elisabeth, the Duchesse of Parma, a set of 12 plates decorated with bleu lapis ground and birds. In 1765 Fillippo, the Duke of Parma added hugely to this service and a huge supplement of pieces from which these seaux crénelés come was ordered and supplied in 1769.

The 1765 delivery for the Filippo, Duke of Parma, son-in-law of Louis XV of France was sent from the factory in April but the Duke died in July of that year. It was purchased through the Parma court's agent in Paris, Claude Bonnet. The service is clearly identified in a 1768 inventory. His son Ferdinando at that time sent an order to Paris through the agent Jean-Dominique Testard acting for him to enlarge this sumptuous service from being used for 12 guests to 24. Interestingly this order even included at least one accurate drawing of a 1765 circular tray already in Parma being sent to Sèvres so that the piece and pattern could be accurately copied. That drawing survives in the Sèvres archives.

These monteiths are two of the four bleu lapis gound seaux crénelés from the 1769 delivery, each costing 204 livres. The whereabouts of the other two is unknown.

The two examples of seaux crénelés from the 1765 delivery also cost 240 livres each and are decorated with birds rather than flowers. They were sold in New York in 1941, in 1981 and again at Christie’s New York on 14 May 1990, lot 167.

The Pierre brothers Jacques l’aîné and Jean-Jacques jeune both worked at Sèvres. The first as a gilder, and the second as a flower painter. Their marks are very similar: the elder used a capital "P" with a small "e" and the younger a capital "P" with a "j" that resembles a "7" or a comma. The style of the flower painting allows one to recognise Pierre jeune’s work. Pierre l'aîné is not thought to have worked as a flower painter at this date.