Porcelain Ewer And Basin, Parisian Manufacture, Directoire Period, Late 18th-18th Century

Paris porcelain ewer and basin from the Directoire period, late 18th century. This two-piece set is decorated with a plain marbled pink on the body of the basin and the ewer. Then, a frieze of antique posts adorns the lip of the basin and delimits the body of the shoulder of the ewer. The interior of the basin is decorated with a garland of stylized ivy leaves and a rosette treated in grisaille. The grisaille technique is reused in the treatment of the lanceolate leaves of the pedestal. The shoulder of the ewer is embellished with opulent scroll motifs treated in gold. The mount of the ewer is particularly refined, treated in gilded bronze, the pusher decorated with a shell and the mount is articulated with a hinge. Condition: a chip on the basin, wear to the grisaille of the basin and on the inner lip of the ewerNote: In 1757, the chemist Jean Hellot developed the shade of pink that would be adapted to porcelain. The Sèvres factory sold several pieces to the Marquise de Pompadour, which gave rise to the "Pompadour pink" named after the favorite. Pink, obtained from colloidal gold, was one of the most expensive and difficult colors to produce.