Composite part of an 18th century Meissen porcelain tea and coffee service. Circa 1720-30, blue marks with two crossed swords, all pieces with gilder's marks 26. except for four saucers with gold mark 4. With polychrome and gold and glossy chinoiserie decoration, including: 1 coffee pot and lid (shock to body), 1 teapot and lid, 1 bowl, 6 tea bowls (one restored) and 5 saucers; small chips, scratches and wear. Height of coffee pot: 19.5 cm D of bowl: 16.5 cm From the collection of Count Anne-Jules de Noailles (1900-1979) Son of the Marquis de Noailles and Anna Bibesco-Bassaraba, Princess of Brancovan, writer and poet well-known as Anna de Noailles, he was the only son of this union. Brought up in Parisian high society by a mother who ran a salon, bringing together the best-known intellectuals, literary figures and artists of the day, it was only natural that he should develop a taste for the arts. A great collector, Anne-Jules donated important pieces from his collection to the Musée du Louvre (14 pieces of 18th-century Meissen porcelain), making him one of the museum's first major donors in the field of porcelain, following in the footsteps of Adolphe Thiers, Baroness Salomon de Rothschild and Georges Heine. He also donated objects to the Musée national de la Céramique de Sèvres (20 pieces of 18th-century Vincennes-Sèvres porcelain) and to the Château de Versailles (6 pieces: a wax portrait of Mme de Maintenon, a purse bearing the arms of Cardinal de Noailles, two candlesticks in Chinese porcelain and gilt bronze and two plates in Sèvres porcelain with green ribbons).