A Sèvres porcelain plate with a cameo portrait of Aeneas
Model "assiette plate". The well painted with a faux-cameo portrait of the Trojan hero in a plumed helmet surrounded by an anthemion border, inscribed to one side "ÉNÉE". The border decorated with Neoclassical foliage and scrolls. Grey stamped mark with conjoined double L (worn), gold painter's mark Di, the rim marked M 27, Jv 23, indistinct incised marks. D 23.6 cm.
1823.
Provenance
William Cowper Prime, New York.
Private Collection, New York.
Sotheby's New York, 20th May 2010, lot 1.
Literature
A plate with similarly fine decor with a portrait of King Louis-Philippe by Sèvres in: Wittwer (ed.), Raffinesse & Eleganz, Munich 2007, no. 9.
In der essay "Alexandre Brongniart und die deutschen Manufakturen. Austausch und Reisen zwischen 1800 und 1847", Tamara Préaud mainly discusses the correspondence between Sèvres and Royal Vienna and Meissen. However, as early as January of 1806, Sèvres sent an extensive porcelain order to KPM in Berlin, including a bust of Napoleon, pieces painted by Swebach and a cameo portrait of the French Emperor (ibid. p. 115). The quality of cameo painting in both factories was at a similar level at this time. KPM only began to simplify their painting by technical means around the time of the large orders of 1818.