Sevres - Plate - Porcelain

Sèvres Porcelain Plate – Service des Bals – Château de Compiègne – Louis-Philippe I., 1847

Antique porcelain plate from the royal Sèvres Manufactory, made in the year 1847 during the reign of King Louis-Philippe I (1830–1848), from the so-called “Service des Bals” (ball service).

On the Service des Bals:
After his accession to the throne in 1830, Louis-Philippe abolished the traditional “grand couvert” and introduced instead several graded Sèvres porcelain services, whose settings varied depending on the occasion and recipient: the Service of the Office, the Service of the Officer, the Service des Bals, the Service des Princes, as well as the colored ceremonial services. The Service des Bals is, like the Service des Princes, characterized by the large gold royal monogram and an additional gold thread along the rim. Pieces of this service were used for the great court balls and receptions in the royal palaces.

Comparable pieces of the Service des Bals are held, among others, in the collections of the Musée national du Château de Pau, the Musée national du Château de Compiègne, and the Musée Louis-Philippe in the Château d’Eu, and are partly on permanent display.

Marks on the plate:

• Gold monogram in the center of the plate: a crowned, interlaced “LP” for Louis-Philippe, surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves and laurel with a bow.

• Blue factory mark on the underside: “SÈVRES” with crown, interlaced monogram and year dating “1847.”

• Iron-red château mark: crowned inscription “CHÂTEAU DE COMPIÈGNE” – the location mark, indicating that this piece was originally intended for the royal furnishings of the Château de Compiègne.