A round Berlin KPM porcelain platter from a service for the French envoy François Barthélemy
Model no. 631. The border decorated with a blue grapevine design, the centre with a large bouquet of rose, poppy and red grapes. Blue sceptre mark, impressed 19, incised II. D 31.8 cm.
C. 1780.
In the account book (Pretiosa 1, period: 1791 - 1798) recording royal orders in the historical KPM archives in Potsdam lists an entry on 12th September 1795 that reads,
"For the French envoy Mr Barthelemy (...) in Basel, to complete a table service of “Englischglatt“ design, painted with (...) colourful naturalistic flowers and fruits (...), on the borders a light blue tendril on a ½ inch wide gilt background (...)".
This order was an addition to an extensive dinner service which the French envoy had received from the Prussian king some time before. François Barthélemy played a decisive role in the negotiations between France and Prussia and in the conclusion of the Peace of Basel.
A larger set of pieces from this service was auctioned by Christie's London on October 6th, 1980, lot 93. The only known dessert plate from the service is housed in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Through the donation of Albrecht Schütze, five pieces from the service - two large round plates, two dinner plates and a salt - entered the collection of the Berlin Stadtmuseum. In addition, a trivet bowl with shell handles from a private collection in Westphalia became known to a wider public through a special exhibition and the catalogue published for it. All these pieces undoubtedly belonged to the dinner service for the French envoy François Barthélemy, which he received from the Prussian King Frederick William II in recognition of the conclusion of the peace treaty, the so-called Peace of Basel.
We would like to thank Mr Dag Nabrdalik for this information.
Provenance
Acquired by King Friedrich Wilhelm II at the Berlin Academy Exhibition in 1788.
Most recently in a private collection in Berlin since 2007.
Literature
An oval platter from the same service published in cat. Kat. Berliner Porzellan. Glanz und Eleganz von Tischen und Tafeln 1763 - 1850, Münster 2006, cat. no. 97.
Another two round platters sold Lempertz Cologne auction 864 on 19 November 2004, lot 5, and Lempertz Berlin auction 1169 on 24 April 2021, lot 174.