215 - RARE PLATE DESIGNED FOR THE OLYMPIC SERVICE, DELIVERED TO THE TUILERIES PALACE AND LATER PRESENTED BY NAPOLEON TO TSAR ALEXANDER I OF RUSSIA

RARE PLATE DESIGNED FOR THE OLYMPIC SERVICE, DELIVERED TO THE TUILERIES PALACE AND LATER PRESENTED BY NAPOLEON TO TSAR ALEXANDER I OF RUSSIA Hard-paste porcelain plate; the center features a grisaille painting of a full-length figure of Ceres, based on an ancient sculpture housed in the Vatican Museum, set against a pale blue sky background; the rim has a red background and is decorated with rosettes alternating with a frieze of stylized foliage in gold. Good condition. Sèvres National Porcelain Manufactory, Consulate period, Year XI (1802–1803). Red stamped mark on the reverse: “Sevres II.” Diameter: 23.5 cm. History Begun during the Consulate in 1803, the “Olympique” service—with a reddish-brown background and miniature scenes drawn from mythology, etc.—was finally delivered to Emperor Napoleon in August 1807 at the Tuileries Palace on the occasion of the wedding of the emperor’s brother, Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, to Catherine of Württemberg. It was ultimately presented by the Emperor to Tsar Alexander I in February 1808 to commemorate the Treaty of Tilsit. Its name, given by Alexandre Brongniart, then director of the manufactory, derives from the subject matter of its decorations, drawn from Greek mythology. Most of this service, consisting of 66 dinner plates, 4 dolphin-decorated fruit bowls, 4 footed bowls, and 2 large bowls, is now primarily housed in the Kremlin collections in Moscow. Our plate is part of a small group of known plates that appear to have been completed designs but were ultimately not selected for the final order, the plates of which feature a different and richer decoration on the rim. Related Works - A plate with the same marli as ours, a design for the Olympic Service, Year XI, Osenat auction, “The Empire at Fontainebleau,” July 1, 2018, lot 149 (sold for €5,250). - Ceres Mattei, marble, acquired in 1770, Rome, Vatican Museums, Pio Clementino Museum (inv. 2826).