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Lot Essay
The refined decoration on this large service relates closely to other Yongzheng period patterns, and it may have been ordered after the 1729 French royal inventory, in which it does not appear. The addorsed L's supporting a flower sprig in the pattern's gilt border may represent the King's initial. The service descended in the Orléans family until Charles X gifted it to a family with whom much remains today. See A. Lebel, Christie's International Magazine, January 2003 and A. Lebel, French and Swiss Armorials on Chinese Export Porcelain of the 18th Century, Brussels, 2009, cover and pp. 38-39.
An impressive array of shapes and forms comprise the French royal service. Two candlesticks from the Benjamin F. Edwards III Collection were sold Christie's, New York, 22 January 2002, lot 136 and 22 January 2003, lot 73. A tripartite spice box and cover was sold Christie's, New York, 14 October 1999, lot 114 and tureens were sold Sotheby's Monaco, 23 June 1986, lot 1181 and in The Hodroff Collection, Christie's, New York, 21 January 2009, lot 266.
An impressive array of shapes and forms comprise the French royal service. Two candlesticks from the Benjamin F. Edwards III Collection were sold Christie's, New York, 22 January 2002, lot 136 and 22 January 2003, lot 73. A tripartite spice box and cover was sold Christie's, New York, 14 October 1999, lot 114 and tureens were sold Sotheby's Monaco, 23 June 1986, lot 1181 and in The Hodroff Collection, Christie's, New York, 21 January 2009, lot 266.