A SÈVRES SOFT-PASTE PORCELAIN COVERED "POT À OILLE" WITH ITS TRAY, 18TH CENTURY, DATED 1780 |

with a polychrome ornementation of birds after Buffon and butterflies in the center, surrounded by golden foliate branches on a green background, marked with the interlaced letters LL, letters CC for 1780, and with the mark of the painter Chappuis and the gilder Leguay

Presented by King Louis XVI on October 22, 1784 to Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of King Frederick the Great Former collection of Maurice de Wendel in his hôtel particulier 28 avenue de New York, Paris, thence by descent to the present owner

Cover : good condition Body : an extended firing haircrack in cetner and a vertical haricrack on top rim (10 cm) Minor wears to gidling on top rim. Tray: The porcelain in good condition, wears to gilding on two rosaces on rim, on one scroll and two leaves.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This "pot à oille" is part of a service made at the Sèvres factory between 1779 and 1782. This service is the first porcelain service of Sèvres to use for source the illustrations of François Nicolas Martinet for the famous Natural History of the Birds of the Count of Buffon published in ten volumes between 1770 and 1786. Several mentions describing the decor also appear in the payment registers of the painters and the loading registers between 1779 and 1782: "service fond petit verd, oiseaux d'après M. de Buffon", "fond verd, service oiseaux", " Service Buffon, Papillons "," bleu céleste papillons ", or" bleu céleste oiseaux ". The background color, an unusual bluish green explains these variations to name it. The records of loads kept at the Manufacture de Sèvres reveal that this service initially consisted of two terrines and their tray and two goose pots and their tray.

The service is delivered to the King's younger brother, Charles Philippe, Count of Artois, August 6, 1782 and included one hundred and seventy-nine coins for a little more than 16,000 pounds. It was donated by the Count d'Artois to the court of Spain in August 1782 but did not include any "pot à oille" or terrine.

" Quatre pots à oille " with their tray described " Service Buffon " at the price of 800 pounds each are offered in October 1784 at the same time as a large service Sèvres porcelain decorated with flowers on a green background by King Louis XVI at Prince Henry of Prussia, brother of King Frederick the Great. David Peters does not see other possibilities than to recognize in these four " pots à oille ", two terrines and two " pots à oille" undelivered to the Count of Artois in 1782 (David Peters, Sevres plates and services of the 18th century, 2015 , Vol III, Nos. 82-4 and 84-14).

This " pot à oille " is thus certainly one of the two " pots à oille " offered by the French crown to Henri of Prussia in 1784. Two other trays of terrine were sold for sale at the end of the nineteenth century (Christie's sale, London, June 4 1875 lots 227 and 14 February 1878, lots 96 and 97).

The vast majority of the service delivered to the Count of Artois for the Court of Spain is now preserved in Belgrade and was recently the subject of a publication, Biljana Crvenkovic, The Buffon Service, The Sèvres Porcelain from the White Palace 2016. Two glass buckets were sold by Sotheby's Paris, October 8, 2015, lot 170. Two bottle buckets were part of the former Paul-Louis Weiller collection (sale Drouot, Gros and Delettrez, April 5, 2011, lot 98).