Mustard pot from King Louis XV’s Mignature et Mosaïque service

This mustard pot, in perfect condition, was commissioned for Louis XV’s personal use at Versailles. It is now part of the new section of the Art & History Museum in Brussels, devoted to 18th century collections. Dated 1767 and made by the prestigious French porcelain factory of Sèvres, it is decorated with putti, painted by Charles Nicolas Dodin, the most skilled painter at Sèvres during this period. It has been acquired by the André de Herdt Fund.

A mustard pot of great quality

Dated 1767, this mustard pot in Sèvres porcelain was made by the prestigious French porcelain factory of Sèvres. It is notable for its magnificent so-called Enfants et Mosaïque (Children and mosaic) decoration. The sophisticated polychrome ornamentation was painted and enhanced with gold motifs. The pot has a cover adorned with a golden fretel (knob) and sits on a presentation dish with scalloped edges and matching decoration. The ensemble is in perfect condition and shows no cracks or signs of having been restored.

The exclusivity of an emblematic decor

The very special decoration of this mustard pot consists of a double-lined blue grid, punctuated with gold dots, inspired by the decoration on a service made in 1753 at the Chantilly porcelain factory. Onto this background have been applied reserves decorated with winged putti on a white background, painted by Nicolas Dodin, the leading painter at Sèvres in the 18th century. The disposition and shape of these reserves were inspired by porcelain produced by the German Meissen factory. The edges of the mustard pot’s presentation dish are decorated with a frieze of golden oves, whilst garlands of flowers, also in gold, have been painted on the edges and grid of the dish, the mustard pot and its lid.

A royal pedigree

Relevant research by David Peters, the international specialist in 18th century Sèvres porcelain services, has enabled this piece to be identified as part of a very rare royal service in porcelain. Initially (c.1759), the service comprised a series of 12 plates, but additional pieces seem to have been added in 1768, 1769 and 1770 and, in 1791, according to unpublished documents (including an order form), Louis XVI appears to have commissioned the service to be replenished. The entire service was probably employed for private use by Louis XV at the Château of Versailles, perhaps in honour of the Countess de Barry, and subsequently by Louis XVI, when he was detained with his family in the Tuileries in Paris. However, the story doesn’t end there, as the mustard pot was later (until 1920) part of the collection of Béatrice Ephrussi de Rothschild.

A service coveted by museums around the world

The complete inventory references 38 pieces, but few have been identified and located. Around ten pieces are held in as many private international collections. A triangular tray is exhibited at the museum of the Château of Versailles, a covered bowl and its stand are kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, whilst one of the 12 plates is at the Ceramics Museum of Sèvres. The mustard pot and its stand have joined the collections of the Art & History Museum in Brussels, thanks to the André De Herdt Fund, which is dedicated to the acquisition of moveable cultural heritage for the museums of Brussels.