A SEVRES PLATE FROM THE 'SERVICE ICONOGRAPHIQUE FRANCAIS' 1820

painted in the center with a bust-length portrait of Nicolas Poussin, initialled to the left in script Br., within a gilt-edged roundel numbered 82, the rim with a bleu lapissé en or ground edged with a gilt scroll border, portrait identification in purple enamel, interlaced L's enclosing a fleur-de-lis, Sevres and date numeral 20 in blue, 13. av. 12 in green, gilder's marks AB in gold for Antoine-Ganriel Boullemier and D.Y. for Charles-Christian-Marie Durosey in purple, various decorator's marks in gold and incised letters LL.

The reverse of this plate is inscribed "Poussin (Nicolas) peintre, né à Andely. 17^me Siecle." Poussin (1594-1665) was active in Paris between 1612 and 1623. Among his various well-known paintings are The Abduction of the Sabine Women (circa 1633) and The Rest on the Flight into Egypt (circa 1627), both in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

This plate is from the 132-piece ‘Service Iconographique Français’ painted with portraits of notable French ladies and gentlemen, taken primarily from engravings and decorated with the same border  as the slightly earlier ‘Service Iconographique Grec’. The service, which was made during the reign of Louis XVIII, but delivered on November 24, 1824 to the Château de Trianon for his successor Charles X, originally comprised 90 plates, 24 mounted plates, 16 compotiers in four different shapes, and a pair of sucriers, which, according to the Sèvres archives (Registre Vbb 6, folio 143, verso), were returned to the factory.

A plate from this service painted with the portrait of François Eudes de Mézerai  was sold in these rooms,  March 10, 1997, lot 35. Another pair of plates from this service with portraits of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon and François de Chevert, was sold at Christie’s in London  on June 22, 1992, lot 44 and again subsequently at Ader Tajan in Paris on November 18, 1992, lot 104.