Victor HUGO (1802-1885)

Set of 3 Sèvres porcelain dessert plates and a compotier, with gold fillet on the rim, with gold-printed decoration in the center of attributes entitled "Les Marrons (de Lyon)", "L'Huile (d'Athènes)" and "La Danse", the compotier without attribute. Good condition, with minor restorations to the gold. A chip on one plate. Manufacture royale de Sèvres, 1824. King Louis XVIII's cypher in blue dated (18)24, gilder's marks dated March 1824. D. 22 and 21.5 cm. Provenance The three plates are probably part of the dessert service delivered to Victor Hugo on September 12, 1825, by order of Charles X, in gratitude for an ode Hugo wrote at the King's coronation in 1824 (Arch. Sèvres, Vbb 7, 6). It was subsequently kept by Jeanne Hugo, the writer's granddaughter, and donated in 1927 to the House of Victor Hugo (Hauteville House) in Guernsey, where it is still partly preserved. It comprised 48 "filet d'or et attributs" plates (44 are kept in Guernsey), 4 round compotiers (kept in Guernsey), 2 Etruscan compotiers (kept in Guernsey), 2 sugar bowls (kept in Guernsey) and 2 Jasmine baskets (1 kept in Guernsey), at a total cost of 526 francs. The Maison de Victor Hugo also holds 2 fruit bowls that appear to have been added to the service, so our "Coupe" compotier may also have been delivered as a later addition.