18th century Sèvres porcelain cup I got today

18th century Sèvres porcelain cup 1764 & saucer 1765

 I'm happy to add to my collection a mid 18th century French Louis XV Sèvres porcelain cup & saucer. Both pieces delicately hand-painted with garden sprigs of scattered flowers and saw-tooth gold rims. The cup with a date mark 'L" for the year 1764 and artist marks for Painter: André-Vincent Vielliard. French, 1717-1790, active at Sèvres 1752-1790. A saucer with date letter "M" for the year 1765 and artist marks for Jean-Jacques Pierre le jeune, flower painter 1758-1802.

18th century still life, Louis XVI fan & engraving with Louis XV Sèvres cup

 It's interesting that theses two pieces in the same style of sprig garden flowers with gold gilt saw-tooth border trim were made at different years and painted by different decorators but artist at the Sèvres factory continually made stock items that were offered for sell to rich aristocrats that happen to stop by the factory. Many set's of Sèvres porcelain have different date marks on them because they continually made items in different patterns plus commission pieces would also some time take year to complete ad also date over a period of time.

 

Brief history of The manufacture nationale de Sèvres.


In 1740, the Vincennes manufactory was created,in the Chateau de Vincennes. French king Louis XV took an intense interest in porcelain due to his mistress Madame de Pompadour and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres near Madame de Pompadour's Bellevue Palace.This new building, 130 meters longer, was built between 1753 to 1756 with Lindet as architect. It became a royal factory in 1759. From the outset the king's clear aim was to produce Sevres Porcelain that surpassed the established Saxony works of Meissen and Dresden. The Sevres Porcelain manufactory always seemed to be in dire financial straits despite the incredibly fine works it produced. In fact, the king's insistence that only the finest items be created may have contributed to the difficulties. Only a limited number of European nobility could afford the extravagant prices demanded for such works.

The Sevres Procelain Factory produced items under the name of "Royal" and thus the well-known Sevres Mark was born. King Louis XV even mandated laws that severely restricted other porcelain production in France so as to retain a near monopoly for his Sevres Porcelain. The king even willingly became chief salesman for the finest of his products, hosting an annual New Year's Day showing for French nobility in his private quarters at Versailles. He eagerly circulated among potential buyers, pitching the merits of ownership and policing the occasional light-fingered guest. By 1800, the Sevres Porcelain Works were practically out of business due to the economic devastation of the new French Republic. Alexandre Brogniart was director between 1800 to 1847 resurrected Sevres Porcelain. Brongniart presided over monumental progress for Sevres Porcelain, catering not only to Napoleon himself, but at last to include the more financially profitable mid-priced market in the emerging middle class.