Page 50 - Hodroff Collection January 2019 SaleCat

THE LEBEL COLLECTION

"...DES PORCELAINES POUR LE ROY"

An extraordinary array of wonderful forms comprised the two
extremely similar services with the French royal arms that were
ordered for Louis XV circa 1735-40. The refned decoration on the
large services relates closely to other Yongzheng period patterns,
and the addorsed L's supporting a fower sprig in the pattern's gilt
border likely represent the King's initial.
Recent research has unearthed the Compagnie des Indes orders
for these services (as well as for a matching set of bidets) from the
archives. Correspondence from Directors of the Compagnie based
in France to the Conseil de Canton describes the orders, and it
seems the big service arrived at the French port of Lorient in July
of 1740. Likely it was intended for use in the King's new Winter
Dining Room on the second foor of Versailles, executed in 1738
The service descended in the Orléans family until Charles X
gifted it to a family with whom much remains today. See A. Lebel,
Christie's International Magazine, January 2003 and A. Lebel,
French and Swiss Armorials on Chinese Export Porcelain of the
Louis XV of France (enamel on gold) by Louis Aubert (f. 1740-80)
18th Century, Brussels, 2009, cover and pp. 38-39.
Two candlesticks from this service in the collection of Benjamin F.
Edwards III were sold Christie's, New York, 22 January 2002, lot
136; a tripartite spice box and cover was sold Christie's, New York,
14 October 1999, lot 114; and tureens were sold in The Hodrof
Collection, Christie's, New York, 21 January 2009, lot 266.

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