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Gobelet litron: C.3-2006

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Gobelet litron

Maker(s)

Factory: Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
Painter: Asselin, Charles Eloi (Probably)

Entities

Categories

Description

Hard-paste porcelain painted in polychrome enamels with a chinoiserie scene of two boys fighting, and gilded with fantastic birds in a pointillé ground

Hard-paste porcelain, painted overglaze in pale blue, pale green, yellow, pale puce, red, shades of brown, and black enamel, and gilt. The cup is cylindrical with a scroll handle, standing on a slight footrim. (no hole for suspension). The front is decorated with a reserve enclosing a chinoiserie scene of two Chinese boys fighting, with a pale green tree and a darker leafy plant on the right, and a faint Chinese building , a pale green tree and a low leafy plant on the left. The rest of the surface is decorated in gold with fantastic birds in a pointillé ground. The handle is entirely gilt

Notes

History note: Kate Foster Ltd., 9 Halkin Arcade, Motcomb Street, London, SW1N 8JT and 5 Market Road, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7JA, invoice 6733, dated 12th June 1987

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Miss Hermione Hammond

Place(s) associated

  • Sèvres ⪼ France

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (2006-01-30) by Hammond, Hermione France Etheldreda

Dating

Louis XVI
Circa 1775 CE - 1776 CE

Note

Charles-Elois Asselin worked at the factory between 1765-98 and 1800-04. mainly as a figure painter, and sometimes as a gilder, and burnisher of his own work. The fullest account of his career is given by Savill, who records that.that he was one of first painters to work on hard-paste, and was recorded painting Chinoiseries from 1772.

The gobelet litron was named after a circular measure, usually wooden, which was used for dry goods, such as corn and flour. It had been introduced at Vincennes before October 1752 when a stock inventory was take, and three sizes were in production in 1753. This is a gobelet litron of the third size.

The strange caillouté decoration in gold is reminiscent of a ground pattern executed in gold with blue dots on the sides of a cup in the Royal Collection, and Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue noted another cup with comparable decoration and chinoiserie scenes bearing the date letter for 1779 and painted by Asselin in a private collection (See Documentation, Bellaigue, 2009).

School or Style

Rococo
Chinoiserie

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels
Deocration composed of gold
Base Of Cup Diameter 5.6 cm
Rim Of Cup Diameter 5.9 cm
Cup Height 5.9 cm Width 7.8 cm
Handle

Materials used in production

Glaze
Hard-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Glazing (coating)

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: interlaced Ls below a crown
  • Location: On base
  • Method of creation: Painted underglaze in blue, which has blurred
  • Type: Factory mark
  • Text: a dot
  • Location: On inside edge of footrim
  • Method of creation: Painted underglaze in blue which has blurred
  • Type: Mark
  • Text: x
  • Location: On base in centre of the interlaced Ls
  • Method of creation: Painted in yellow
  • Type: Date letter
  • Text: A
  • Location: On base below factory mark
  • Method of creation: Painted in yellow
  • Type: Painter's mark

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.3-2006
Primary reference Number: 126026
Entry form number: 638
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Wednesday 13 September 2017 Last processed: Wednesday 13 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Gobelet litron" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/126026 Accessed: 2024-11-02 18:36:00

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/126026 |title=Gobelet litron |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-02 18:36:00|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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