273 - DECOCTION POT FROM THE NAPOLEON III SERVICE AT THE TUILERIES PALACE

DECOCTION POT FROM THE NAPOLEON III SERVICE AT THE TUILERIES PALACE First-size decoction pot from the Capraire service, with a beautiful blue base and gold decoration featuring a half-circle of stylized florets, a frieze of capraire leaves on the upper part of the body, and a frieze of ivy leaves on the neck, with a gold border around the edges. The lid is missing. Imperial Sèvres Manufactory, 1858. Marked with the cipher of Emperor Napoleon III—an “N” beneath an imperial crown—dated (18)58; bottom-mark “D.14.Xb.33” (December 14, 1833). H. 22 x W. 21 cm. Provenance This famous yet, paradoxically, little-known service was originally commissioned by Napoleon I for the “Service des Princes” at the Tuileries Palace, delivered in June 1811, and described as: “beautiful blue marli service, gold capraire frieze, mosaic florets in the center, etc.” (Arch. MNC, Sèvres, registers Vy20, f°9 and Vu1, f°106). During the Restoration, it was used at Saint-Cloud (beginning in 1820), Compiègne (1824), Fontainebleau (1827), and Rambouillet (1828). Louis-Philippe therefore acquired many pieces and decided to make them the tableware for his official residence, the Tuileries, where most official meals and receptions took place. The first order was placed by letter dated November 21, 1832 (762 pieces), however, the King made a change to the original set, as he did not want the gold floral pattern normally found in the center of the plates (Arch. Cité de la Céramique, Sèvres, register Vtt3, f°175). It was subsequently used consistently and expanded upon by Emperor Napoleon III for the Tuileries Palace. The name of this service comes from the frieze of exotic leaves bearing that name, native to South America, related to tea, which goats particularly enjoy, hence the name “capraire,” derived from the Latin *caprinus* (goat, billy goat).