267 - Seven significant Sèvres cups from a dessert service for John FitzGibbon

Seven significant Sèvres cups from a dessert service for John FitzGibbon On a round, gracefully curved silver display stand. 8-piece set; soft porcelain. So-called “Tasses à glace.” The body flares out in a bell shape above the round foot and features a side handle. A richly gilded ornamental border with garlands of roses and blossoms runs all the way around the wall. Chestnut-brown partial ground. Fine polychrome painting. Painter’s mark in gold, “GI,” for Étienne-Gabriel Girard (active from 1762 to 1800). Hallmark of inspection, Master André Aucoc, Paris, active from 1887. Total silver weight: 730 g. Unspecified restoration; Primarily year marks and manufacturer’s mark. Cup height: 6.5 cm. Total diameter: 25.5 cm. Total height: 13 cm. The 166-piece dessert service includes 21 cups (à glace). In addition to the preliminary sketches, both the client and the recipient are known. The service was acquired by William Eden (1744–1814), a British statesman and diplomat as well as ambassador to France (1785–1787), on behalf of his friend John FitzGibbon (1748–1802), the influential Irish politician and 1st Earl of Clare. See Ronald W. Fuchs II, “William FitzGibbon and his Order of a Sèvres Porcelain Dessert Service”; Ronald W. Fuchs II, *50 Treasures: 50th Anniversary of the Reeves Collection of Ceramics at Washington and Lee University*, No. 44. A set of seven important soft-paste porcelain Sèvres ice cups from a dessert service for John FitzGibbon. French silver stand by A. Aucoc, Paris, after 1887. Painter’s mark. Insignificantly restored. Mostly manufacturer’s mark. France. Sèvres. Circa 1787.