Literature

With the factory mark in blue enclosing the date-letter I for 1762, painter’s mark T for François Binet (active at Vincennes and Sèvres 1750-75).

This plates comes from a Sèvres porcelain dinner service with bleu lapis vermiculé ground and flowers that David Peters has noted in the Sèvres factory's records was 'Service demandé par Mgt. Le Duc De Praslin'. Praslin was the French Minister of Foreign Affairs at that time. In the lists of presents from the King recorded at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this service was clearly given to 'M. le Duc de Nivernois Ambassador du Roi à la Cour de Londres' which cost a total of 10,714 livres. Nivernois was also sent to London with a lavish silver service costing the massive sum of 96,000 livres.

Nivernois had previously served as the French Ambassador in Rome (1749-52 and 1756-57) and to Prussia (1756) before coming to London 1762 to 1763. He was sent to work with the Earl of Egremont, British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to conclude the Seven Years War. As the scholar David Peters has noted at the same time the Duke of Bedford was sent to Paris as British Ambassador to work in parallel.

This service had 60 plates costing 42 livres each and it was supplied in the first half of 1763. The most costly item in the service was a punch bowl with its' morter at 720 livres together. It also seems that more pieces were added to the service in a supplement supplied in September 1763. Interestingly the punch bowl is in the collection of the Earls of Egremont at Petworth House, Sussex, so it is assumed that Nivernois presented it to the Earl with whom he negotiated rather than returning with it to France in 1763.

Also, we find many other pieces of this service in British collections and in particular the largest surviving group is of 53 pieces including decanter coolers, dishes and 32 plates that are in the British Royal collection.