Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory

SÈVRES PORCELAIN MANUFACTORY
Sèvres, France, founded in 1756
Decoration painted by Jean Georget (1763-1823)

Cabaret (Breakfast Service) called “Famous Women”
About 1814
Hard-paste porcelain, painted decoration in polychrome enamel, gold and platinum
Teapot: 17.3 x 17 x 10.2 cm
Sugar bowl: 8.3 x 8.4 x 9.9 cm
Creamer: 15.5 x 9.9 x 7.2 cm
2 cups: H. 8.4 cm; Diam. 6.2 cm (each)
2 saucers: H. 2.7 cm; Diam. 13 cm (each)

Purchase, Suzanne Caouette Bequest

Photo MMFA

This exquisite breakfast service includes miniatures of renowned 17th- and 18th-century women intellectuals, including Italian Rococo artist Rosalba Carriera, who is represented in the Museum’s collection. Alexandre Brongniart, director of Sèvres—Europe’s prominent porcelain manufacturer—had the innovative idea of featuring women famous for something other than their beauty. Entrusted with the portraits was Jean Georget, a student of the renowned Neoclassical painter Jacques-Louis David.

One of three known surviving sets, this one was gifted by King Louis XVIII to his nephew, the Duc d’Angoulême, in 1816. It is both historically significant and beautifully executed, representing the intersection of fine decorative art and social history.