422 - PLATE FROM THE SERVICE OF THE DUKE OF NARBONNE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO NAPLES, MADE OF SÈVRES PORCELAIN

PLATE FROM THE SERVICE OF THE DUKE OF NARBONNE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO NAPLES, MADE OF SÈVRES PORCELAIN Hard-paste porcelain plate; the rim decorated with a frieze of interlacing patterns and palmettes in brown on a Nankin background; the center panel adorned with a polychrome bouquet of flowers painted in naturalistic style; a frieze of gold lotus flowers along the border; and a gold fillet on the rim and base. Minor wear to the polychrome decoration; a chip on the foot. Royal Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, circa 1818. Marked with the cipher of King Louis XVIII—interlaced “LL” centered on a fleur-de-lis—and inscribed “Sèvres” in blue on the underside; marked “Philippine J.” for the floral painter Jean-François-Henri Philippine (1771–1840). Diameter: 23.5 cm. Provenance One of 90 plates from the service described as having a “Nanking background with brown ornamentation, a bouquet of flowers, etc.,” delivered on June 25, 1818, to Raymond Jacques Marie de Narbonne-Pelet (1771–1855), Duke of Narbonne, then French ambassador to Naples to the King of the Two Sicilies between 1817 and 1821. In addition to the 90 plates, the set included 4 sugar bowls, 4 fruit bowls, 16 fruit bowls (8 of which were on footed bases), 2 “Jasmin” baskets, and 2 low baskets, for a total price of 7,190 francs. (Sèvres Archives, Vbb2, 17 and Vv1, 107). Related Works - A set of 8 plates from the same service, Sèvres, circa 1818, sold at Sotheby’s, New York, “Wolf Collection,” lot 718 (sold for $24,120). - A plate also sold at Osenat, Fontainebleau, “L’Empire à Fontainebleau,” December 10, 2023, lot 32 (sold for €4,122). - A portion of this same service, comprising 12 plates, 2 footed fruit bowls, and a sugar bowl, sold at Vregille & Cortot in Dijon on November 19, 2016, lot 130.