Directed by: Régnier, Hyacinthe (Dessinateur)
Design / Manufacture / Production: Manufacture royale de Sèvres
Reticulated Chinese breakfast
Reticulated Chinese breakfast
Realization :
Area: Ceramics
Technique(s): Hard porcelain (cutting, brush painting, enhancement)
Inventory no.: 15620.0
Photo credit(s):
Lauginie, François
Cartel
Under the July monarchy, the decorative arts enjoyed a golden age, with the productions of the Sèvres Porcelain Factory contributing to this, whether in the field of porcelain or glass painting, which Louis-Philippe revived in 1830. This lunch, designed by Hyacinthe Régnier in 1831 for the factory, is one of the most audacious produced by its director Alexandre Brongniart. The term "reticulated" designates the openwork decoration, a real feat consisting in doubling the solid inner wall with a hollowed-out outer envelope, the mesh of which is cut out of the clay before firing. This Chinese technique is complemented by bamboo motifs for handles and spouts. Lunch is decorated in a variety of ways, depending on the order: left white to emphasize the object, or painted with rich gold ornamentation, in this case with an Islamic motif evoking another Orient.
As aesthetic as it is practical, this double-walled design makes it possible to grip the vessels without burning oneself. Due to the complexity of the process, only around fifty services were produced by the Sèvres Manutacture. Queen Marie-Amélie alone, wife of King Louis-Philippe, had seven delivered. This one was presented to her daughter, princess and sculptor Marie d'Orléans, in 1832.
Provenance
Commissioned by Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles (1782-1866), 1832.
Presented by Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles to her daughter Marie d'Orléans (1813-1839).
Collection of Philippe de Würtemberg (1838-1917), son of Marie d'Orléans.
Collection of Robert de Würtemberg (1873-1947), son of Philippe de Würtemberg, and his wife Marie de Würtemberg (1878-1968).
New York, Collection of Dr. Richard Bak.
Gift of Dr. Richard Bak to the Musée d'histoire et d'archéologie d'Orléans, 1956.
Location
Museum of Fine Arts
1st mezzanine
Room: Louis-Philippe and the Orléans family