A pair of Vincennes plates circa 1753

assiettes à ozier entrelacés or assiettes à berceaux, painted by Armand l'aïné with landscape vignettes, one with a pair of chickens, the other with a tall wading bird and a smaller bird in flight, the borders painted en camaïeu bleu with flower garlands and occasional gilded flowers, the rims also gilded

There are a few fine scratches to the glaze and wear to the glaze along the mould lines connecting the border to the cavetto of the plate.s
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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These plates with their fine moulding, complete mastery of enamel colours and judicious, if sparing, use of gilding, mark a considerable achievement in the development of the Vincennes factory's capabilities.  They are from a well documented group of plates all decorated by Armand l'aïné with vignettes of birds and flower garland borders, some in green and others, as here, in blue. One is in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris (see Tamara Préaud, La Porcelaine de Vincennes, 1991, p. 151, no. 117), another is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (see Christopher Maxwell, French Porcelain of the Eighteenth Century, 2010, p. 59, no. 49, C.99A-1971), two are in the Musée des Beaux Arts and Archéologie in Boulogne-sur-mer and two pairs have recently been sold at auction:  Etude Enchère République, Chateaudun, 19^th April 2009, lots 91 and 92 and Christies, London 12^th May 2010, lot 202.

There are at least two sets, each of fifteen plates, whose description in the Vincennes sales records (assiettes à berceaux oiseaux et fleurs guirlands) correspond to this type.  One was bought by none other than King Louis XV's representative at the factory, the Marquis de Courteilles, and the other by a Monsieur de la Boissière, in August and September 1753 respectively (Vy 1 fol. 15 and 20v).   Rosalind Savill has explained the significance of the Marquis de Courteilles in the factory's early years, see The Wallace Collection, Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, Vol. III, pp 974-5.  He was intimately connected with Vincennes from 1748 when was he was appointed Intendant des finances by the King.  He was described as the factory's protector and in return received sumptuous gifts of porcelain and had at least two shapes named after him.  His endorsement of the factory extended well beyond his official duties however, as he regularly bought porcelain on his own account, his name appearing regularly in the sales records from 1752 until his death in 1767.  The inventory drawn up on his death lists a blue Sèvres dinner service decorated with gold and bird cartouches (bleue, or et à cartouche representans des oiseaux).  These plates, decorated with essentially the same elements, are perhaps an early indication of his personal taste in porcelain.

Armand's precise early bird painting at Vincennes was initially inspired by Chinese porcelain decoration. By 1753 however, his style had begun to evolve; the birds no longer appear so static and there is a lightness to the vegetation which seems more in keeping with the French rococo aesthetic.  However, careful attention to detail, harmonious composition and quality remain the hallmark of his work and this was reflected in his salary which, by 1752, had reached the top rate of 100 livres per month.  The substantial annual bonuses he received in addition made him the highest paid of all the painters at Vincennes.  Armand's career has been studied in depth by Bernard Dragesco who, thanks to detailed research in the factory archives, in 1993 was able to link the crescent mark to him definitively.  This identification was reinforced by the discovery of a group of bird drawings, signed by Armand also bearing this mark.