Name/Title
Sèvres Serving TrayContext
French, ca. 1758. Sèvres tray in blue, pink, and white porcelain. Part of a coffee ensemble including a coffee pot, sugar and creamer, as well as by a satin-linted traveling case.
The French royal manufactory at Sèvres became the most influential and prestigious porcelain factory in Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century. Its products were characterized by innovation in both form and decoration, and by a consistently high level of technical skill.
This tray bears the original Sèvres production marks and quality. The playful scene depicted in the center of the tray is a beautiful example of the "Fête galante" genre. In an open-air loggia children play games.
A painting by the French painter Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743) depicting the age of "Childhood" served as a model for this tray (National Gallery, London, United Kingdom). The Lancret painting was engraved in reverse by Nicolas de Larmessin III in 1735. Like the image on this Sèvres tray, most of the numerous painted copies were copied from the prints and are therefore shown in reverse.
Gift of Mrs. Leonidas T. Barrow.Acquisition
Accession
1969.01Source or Donor
Mrs. Leonidas T. Barrow (Laura Thomson)Acquisition Method
GiftCredit Line
In Mem of donor's mother, Laura Driscoll Thomson (Mrs. Henry D. ) of San Antonio