A Sèvres porcelain beau bleu mortar from the Conde de Aranda service 1786

(mortier de jatte à punch), painted on the front and reverse with flower sprays within notched rectangular gilt-edged panels reserved on the beau bleu ground richly gilt between the panels with foliate scrollwork, all beneath an everted barbed rim gilt with alternating swags of flowers and husks, interlaced L's, date letters jj and painter's mark of two crossed axes for Jacques-François Micaud in blue enamel, gilder's mark HP for Henri-Martin Prévost in gold. Small chips to rim and footrim.

The Antique Porcelain Company, New York
Sold, Sotheby's, New York, November 1, 1997, lot 220

The Antique Porcelain Company, Coronation Exhibition, 1953, London, 1953, facing p. 66.

The rim with some patches of wear to the gilding on the outer edge; five of the eight barbs with wear on their points but otherwise OK; one barb over the pears and cherries panel and another barb over the left edge of the peaches and plums panel with a 1/8-inch chip on each tip; and one barb at one side with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) shallow chip on the upper edge. The blue ground with some minor scratching on one side of the lower body. The center of the interior with a 1 ¼-inch Y-shaped firing crack, not showing through on the base.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

From an extensive service presented by Louis XVI, King of France, to Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea Ximinez de Urréa, Conde de Aranda, Spanish Ambassador-Extraordinary to France from 1773 to 1787.

For a detailed discussion of the presentation of this service, and its subsequent history, see David Peters, Sèvres Plates and Services of the 18th Century, Vol. IV, pp. 817-820.