Bidspirit auction | Pair of genuine French Sevres

Pair of genuine French Sevres porcelain vases, circa 1746-1764, France - Pair of genuine French Sevres porcelain vases, circa 1746-1764, France. Beautiful example of early Sevres vases, founded by Lois XV and Madame Pompadour in 1740. Front view: Blue cobalt, gilt, two different court scenes Back view: Royal monogram with two letters: L (for Louis XV) and P for Madame Pompadour. Height: 14 inches = 35.5 cm; Marks on the base: two interlaced L’s, painted in cobalt blue, either in in underglaze pigment, with two small “LL” inside and “S…” underneath. One vase has incised numbers into the clay at the base, which is a strong evidence of authenticity. Condition: Overall perfect condition, there are round holes in the bottom, which were used for the wires of electric lamps. Provenance: private collection in Clearwater, Florida, USA. References: In 1740, the Manufacture de Vincennes was founded, thanks to the support of Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, in order to compete with factories such as Chantilly in France and Meissen in Germany.[1] In 1756, the manufactory was moved to a building in Sèvres, built at the initiative of Madame de Pompadour, near her château de Bellevue. From about 1745, the porcelain manufactory at Vincennes (established in 1740 on the grounds of a former hunting lodge, east of Paris) marked its wares with the royal cipher – two interlaced L’s. This is usually painted in cobalt blue, either in over-glaze enamel or in underglaze pigment. A date-lettering system was introduced around 1754. Soon the factory’s decorators, particularly painters, began to mark their work. Throwers, moulders and répareurs, who fashioned or assembled objects, incised marks into the clay, which although largely unidentified, provide some evidence of authenticity. For a detailed discussion of marks see Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain (London, 1988), vol. III, pp. 1081-1137.