Style Napoleon III / Ref.13730

SÈVRES Manufacture, Porcelain Tazza with Masks, 1846-1863

This tazza in blue porcelain enhanced with gold was executed at the Sèvres manufactory between 1846 and 1863.

The Vincennes manufactory, the ancestor of the Sèvres manufactory, was founded in 1740 by workers who had defected from the Chantilly manufactory. The Vincennes manufactory became royal in 1752, shortly before its transfer to Sèvres in 1756. It enjoyed growing popularity in the second half of the 18^th century, and throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries, continuing to the present day.

This splendid tazza features a highly elaborate shape and decoration. Its baluster stem alternates bands of deep blue with lighter shades embellished with gold filigree, and interlaced gold on a white background with an oriental motif. Three finely executed faun masks complete the decor. The cup itself is decorated with an alternation of more or less expressive male and female masks in relief, also enhanced with gold. Inside the tazza, numerous interlaced gold patterns, some more burnished than others, unfold on a white background.

The manufactory stamps present under the base provide information about the creation of the piece: the tazza was crafted during the reign of Louis-Philippe (1830-1848), in 1846; the gold decoration was only completed in 1863, under Napoleon III (1852-1870).

This tazza is therefore a magnificent testimony to 19^th-century decorative art, both in its form and its decoration.