Footnotes

The Production and Legacy of Black-Ground Sèvres Porcelain (1778-1794)

For a discussion of decoration in imitation of lacquer, see Selma Schwartz, Chinoiserie Decoration on Black-ground Sèvres Porcelain, in M. Köpplin (ed.), Schwartz Porcelain - The Lacquer Craze and its Impact on European Porcelain, vol. III (2003), pp. 98-107.

With the rise of Neoclassicism in the 1770s, there was renewed interest in the furniture of André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) as well as furniture inspired by his designs. Their materials: tortoiseshell, brass, and tin, in their black, gold, and silver appearance matched perfectly with lacquer objects. In fact, the inventories of some of the most prominent lacquer collectors show that their furniture was more often in the Boulle genre rather than made from lacquer. Selma Schwartz (op.cit., pp.98-107) explains the incorporation of lacquer imitation beyond the obvious technical advancements. In the late 1780s, a series of important lacquer furniture was delivered to the French court, including pieces for Versailles, Saint Cloud, Compiègne, and Bellevue; for Louis XVI, his aunt Adelaide, and Madame Victoire. Notably, Jean Henri Riesener created furniture for Marie Antoinette in 1783 (now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see catalogue illustration), intended for her Grand Cabinet Intérieur at Versailles. This furniture harmonised with the collection of Japanese lacquer boxes inherited from her mother, Empress Maria Theresa (1717–80) of Austria, by reusing choice fragments of seventeenth-century Japanese lacquer as veneer.

The interest in creating porcelain that resembled lacquer and related experiments seem to have started in Sèvres around 1769, shortly after the manufactory began producing hard-paste porcelain. This was driven by the new technical possibilities and the ongoing fascination with East Asian lacquer. Two documents in the Sèvres archives (Archives, Cité de la céramique, C2/9) suggest that the manufactory explored the process of producing lacquer, possibly for applying lacquer decoration to already fired pieces. In one letter, a Parisian manufacturer of vernis (imitated lacquer) describes his recipes and the process of using black and white lacquer on porcelain. The second document, signed by the director of the manufactory, Melchior François Parent (1772-78), specifies the mixture ratios for black and red lacquer and the application of gold. However, it would take another ten years before the first lacquer imitations were produced.

Between 1778 and 1782, the Sèvres manufactory produced a remarkable series of porcelain decorated in imitation of lacquer. This included a notable series from 1779 with black ground colours, achieved using a combination of iron oxide, cobalt, and manganese. These black backgrounds were often adorned with gold and silver decorations, echoing the renewed taste for lacquered furniture. However, the production was marred by technical difficulties related to the tarnishing nature of silver. Platinum, which does not tarnish, quickly replaced silver.

In April 1790, the Comte d'Angiviller, Director-General of the King's Buildings and in charge of the Sèvres Manufactory, wrote to Antoine Régnier , the new director of the manufactory (1778-93), congratulating him on acquiring 3.5 pounds of platinum:

It was an acquisition not to be missed, and I strongly approve of it. For I rely heavily on this new kind of decoration that no other manufactory will certainly achieve

(Archives, Cité de la céramique, H5 vol.1, sincere thanks to Cyrille Froissart who first published this reference).

Notable Productions and Sales

Between 1790 and 1793, Sèvres created around forty pieces with black grounds, decorated with coloured gold and platinum. These included vases, flower bowls, water pots, candlesticks, tea services, and table services. The first of these services, though with a sparser decoration of polychrome flowers on the cavetto, was sold on May 6, 1791, to the Marquis de Sémonville (1759-1839), Louis XVI's ambassador to Genoa.

A second service was purchased on 4 April, 1792, by James Milmes (sic), consisting of 48 plates at 48 livres each. Some plates featured enamel flowers, while others had entirely black backgrounds with Chinese figures in gold and platinum, similar to our plate. James Milmes, as listed in the Sèvres archives, likely refers to James Milnes (1755-1805), heir to a wealthy Wakefield woollen merchant and member of Parliament. Milnes was an inconspicuous Member. He joined Brooks's Club, sponsored by Fox, on 17 May 1803 and a week later voted with the Whigs on the failure of negotiations to prevent the resumption of war with France.

In late 1794, Citoyen Empaytaz & Compagnie, a company acting as agents for the King of Prussia, bought part of a black-ground service produced in 1791 that remained in stock. This service, composed of 71 pieces including 21 plates, a mix of black ground pieces with others featuring polychrome flowers on a white background.

Provenance and Legacy

In the 19th century, specifically in 1844, Prince Nicolay Borisovich Yusupov (1750-1831) owned 107 pieces of the black-ground service. By 1887, the Yusupov family possessed only 32 pieces. Fifteen of these are now housed at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, including five plates with entirely black backgrounds (see Nina Birioukova and Natalia Kazakevitch 'La porcelaine de Sèvres du XVIII siècle' The Hermitage Museum (2005), pp. 189-193, nos. 946-954). Twelve plates are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Christian Dauterman, Sèvres (1969), p. 52, pl. II); and two others are in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (cat.no. 33-1369 and 33-1370). Two 'seau à demi bouteille' dated 1791 are in the Getty Museum, Malibu (Adrian Sassoon, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Vincennes and Sèvres Porcelain (1991), no. 30, pp. 152-157). A jug and two hexagonal double-gourd bottles are in the collection of Belton House, Lincolnshire, NT 433527 (Patricia F. Ferguson, Ceramics: 400 Years of British Collecting in 100 Masterpieces (2016), p..). Two plates were sold at Christie's in New York in 2010 (Christie's, New York, 22 October, 2010, lot 639) and another plate was sold in 2018 from the collection of Christophe Perlès, Pescheteau-Badin, 18 June, 2018, lot 120).

The source for the central scenes on the plate can found in the work of Jean-Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808). The prints after Pillement used at Sèvres can be found in Jean Avril's 'Cahier de Balançoires chinoises' of circa 1770, and the image used for this plate is on the title page (see catalogue illustration). For a study on Sèvres black-ground dessert services, see David Peters, Sèvres Plates and Services of the 18th Century (2015), Vol. IV, no. 91-4, pp. 943-945; no. 92-4, pp. 965-968, and vol. V, no. 94-11, pp. 1075-1078.