Tray, from a Breakfast Service (Plateau; Déjeuner Mosaïque Florentine) Tray

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This and 8 other objects are a part of a set whose first object is Breakfast Service (Déjeuner Mosaïque Florentine) Breakfast Service.

Object Timeline

1970	We photographed this object.
1981	We acquired this object.
2013	We photographed this object.
2014	This was an Object of the Day.
2015	We photographed this object.
2020	We photographed this object. We photographed this object. We photographed this object.
2024	You found it!

Tray, from a Breakfast Service (Plateau; Déjeuner Mosaïque Florentine) Tray

This is a tray. It was possibly by Charles-Louis Constans and attributed to Alexandre Brongniart and manufactured by Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory and painted by Pierre Huard. It is dated 1813 and we acquired it in 1981. Its medium is hard paste porcelain, vitreous enamel, gold. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

This oval tray is part of a breakfast service, thought to have been offered as a New Year's gift to Comtesse Montesquiou by the Empress Marie-Louise, second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. Painted in the Etruscan style, it represents a unique collaborative effort between Alexandre Brongniart, the director of Sèvres, and his father, the prolific designer Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart. The younger Brongniart’s passion for the natural world is reflected in the scientific precision with which the various bird and butterfly species are depicted, not to mention the masterful trompe-l’oeil lapis lazuli and other hard stones painted on the background. As evidenced by the tray, the elder Brongniart had a talent for integrating small-scale motifs into larger, more complex designs. The coffered pattern that rings the center of the tray evokes the domed ceiling of the Panthéon in Paris. The virtuoso centerpiece, a still life likely copied from specimens in the younger Brongniart’s collection, may be the work of Charles-Louis Constans, who painted at Sèvres between 1803 and 1840. The trompe-l’oeil shadow cast by an opalescent pearl is but one example of the attention he paid to naturalistic detail

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled Like Father, Like Son .

This object was donated by Katrina H. Becker. It is credited Gift of Katrina H. Becker in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles V. Hickox.

Royal Jewel Cabinet Cupboard
mahogany; hard paste porcelain, vitreous enamel, gold leaf, platinum,verre....
Bequest of the Reverend Alfred Duane Pell.
1991-31-2

Sidewall, Drywall #1
inkjet print on nylon reinforced paper.
Gift of Urs Fischer.
2014-37-1

An exquisite vanity case with a complex design of geometric patterns and a centrally located opalescent and iridescent landscape mosaic created from shell. The rectangular case is fabricated in a horizontal orientation with a three step design revealing rounded corners on the left and right sides with a gold base and a straight blue enamel line on the two lower steps. The face is composed of a background of four separate step designs repeated on each quadrant made of gold, blue and a lighter blue enamel with a border design of gold with a blue step design on the right and left sides. Black enamel surrounds the negative space of all geometric forms on the face. In the center exists a calm rectangular landscape constructed of a sky, clouds, mountains and land carved from mother-of-pearl shell displaying lighter hues and a tree on the left and a mountain on the bottom left carved from iridescent abalone displaying luscious blues and greens. The diamond border encases the landscape with two pink red square cut rubies centered on the top and bottom with a step design fabricated of diamonds surrounding the top of the top rubies and bottom of the bottom rubies.The photograph captures the vanity case revealing the bottom and face on an angle with a cast shadow reflecting the bottom on a white ground.

Vanity Case, Landscape, ca. 1929
mother-of-pearl, rose-cut diamonds, square-cut rubies, enamel, 18-karat gold,....
Lent by Private Collection.
13.2016.53

Our curators have highlighted 2 objects that are related to this one.

Rectangular mottled-green jadeite box with central striated rock crystal column terminating at bottom in a lapis lazuli arrow motif carved with roses, and diamond accents. The jadeite varies in shade from light brown-green to deep forest green. The beige-colored rock crystal and deep blue lapis lazuli make a striking contrast. The rock crystal column is set with diamonds at top and bottom; those at the bottom frame an angular black onyx stone. The arrow wraps around the front edge of the box, with a short band of diamonds on the front side. A round diamond is set near each side of the front surface. The box sits on a softly reflective white surface.

Box
jadeite, frosted striated rock crystal, lapis lazuli, collet-set, baguette,....
Lent by Private Collection.
13.2016.72

Vanity case. At the center of the case is a landscape image, featuring a short path, a gate, and several buildings. In the background lies a hill or mountain, at the top of which lies several buildings, including a tower. In each corner of the vanity case are series of purple, vertical rectangles, cascading from the corner of the case to the center, landscape image.

Vanity Case, Persian Mosque, ca. 1929
mother-of-pearl, hardstone, enamel, gold, diamonds, platinum.
Lent by Private Collection.
13.2016.57

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 2.2 x 42.8 x 34cm (7/8 x 16 7/8 x 13 3/8in.)

It has the following markings

Underside: [1] ""Manufacture Impériale SÈVRES" surrounding crowned eagle, printed in red (very faded, manufactory mark) [2] cursive "C L", incised [3] cursive "DC", incised [4] "Le+" with a plus sign or cross (?), incised [5] cursive "12 M..." (?), incised and painted in gold

It is signed

Not signed

It is inscribed

Uninscribed

Cite this object as

Tray, from a Breakfast Service (Plateau; Déjeuner Mosaïque Florentine) Tray; Possibly by Charles-Louis Constans; Attributed to Alexandre Brongniart (French, 1770–1847); Manufactured by Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory (France); Painted by Pierre Huard (French, active 1811–1847); France; hard paste porcelain, vitreous enamel, gold; H x W x D: 2.2 x 42.8 x 34cm (7/8 x 16 7/8 x 13 3/8in.); Gift of Katrina H. Becker in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles V. Hickox; 1981-38-1

Short URL http://cprhw.tt/o/2EkU2/
Accession Number 1981-38-1
Object ID 18797685