Today's purchases, a 18th c Old Paris porcelain Gravy Boat.

A late 18th century Old Paris porcelain Gravy Boat w/ Attached Underplate painted with sprigs of garden flowers circa 1780's. 

Yesterday evening I was the lucky winner on ebay for this lovely late 18th century Gravy Boat with Attached Underplate. Handpainted with sprigs of garden flowers and borders trimmed in gold gilt sawtooth. This was a common pattern in late 18th century French porcelain. Even the Sèvres factory made dinner services in the garden flower sprig pattern. Over the years I have collected late 18th century porcelain in this pattern. Finding a large set or any set of porcelain dinnerware from the 18th century is rare and expensive. Piecing together a service in the same pattern in easier and can be cheaper.  This gravy boat was advertised as being by the porcelain factory Locré, but the piece is not signed. Sometimes every piece in a dinner service was not signed.  

   According to Régine Plinval de Guillebon, the author of the book "The porcelains of Paris" The three most important porcelain works in Paris by 1779, were Locré, Rue Thiroux and Clignancourt. They made the same type of objects as the famous (but much more expensive) Sèvres factory: a wide range table and tea wares and useful items such as writing sets, toilet articles and tobacco-related items. A variety of painted and gilded decoration was used from simple floral sprigs to elaborate Etruscan, neo-classical or other fashionable designs. 

The shape of the Grave Boat is Louis XV Rococo 

A fruit and branch handle on the lid 

A 18th century dinner plate in my collection from the Rue Thiroux factory in sprigs of garden flowers pattern. This factory was patronized by French Queen Marie Antoinette. Marked with a crown A. 

In my collection, Four French Louis XVI period antique 18th century Old Paris porcelain ribbed plates, dishes from the Boissettes porcelain factory located outside of Paris in operation from ca. 1778-ca. 1785. The plates are decorated with handpainted garden flowers and gilt dentil border.

Spring flowers at le château de Hopkins.

Spring flowers in a late 18th century Old Paris porcelain Neoclassical vase signed by the Locré factory on a 1820's English Regency silver tray at le château de Hopkins.

The Locré and Russinger porcelain factory, one of the many which set up in the city of Paris during the final quarter of the 18th century. Jean-Baptiste Locré was a businessman who invested his fortune in building the factory at La Courtille. He invited Laurentius Russinger, a porcelain specialist and sculptor who had worked at the Höchst factory to work there in 1772 and in 1777 appointed him as manager. By the late 1760s the right kind of clay (kaolin) to make glassy Meissen style porcelain, had been discovered in France at Saint-Yrieux, near Limoges. This was used by Russinger to produce a hard-paste porcelain similar to Meissen that could withstand boiling water, which was an important selling point for the factory's wares that they used in their advertisements. The factory also adopted the mark of a pair of crossed flaming torches, reminiscent of Meissen's crossed swords mark. Sometimes known as 'La Courtille' after its location in Paris, the factory is also sometimes referred to as Locré, Russinger and Pouyat - François Pouyat was a porcelain dealer in Limoges who supplied the clay. The factory owed him so much money he became one of its partners and eventually he and his three sons took over.

According to Régine Plinval de Guillebon, this factory ranked among the three most important porcelain works in Paris by 1779, the others being Rue Thiroux and Clignancourt. They made the same type of objects as the famous (but much more expensive) Sèvres factory: a wide range table and tea wares and useful items such as writing sets, toilet articles and tobacco-related items. A variety of painted and gilded decoration was used from simple floral sprigs to elaborate Etruscan, neo-classical or other fashionable designs. The factory excelled in biscuit sculpture, not surprising perhaps as this was Russinger's speciality. They produced many different mythological, allegorical and family groups as well as individual subjects.