Les "acteurs De La Comédie Française" Famille Rose Saucer - China, 18th, Yongzheng Period

A saucer depicting “Les acteurs de la Comédie Française”, after a painting by Antoine Watteau.
China, 18th
Yongzheng Period (1723–1735)

Diameter : 11.7cm

Provenance:
Private French Collection

For an identical saucer, see:
– La porcelaine de la Compagnie des Indes à décor occidental, F. and N. Hervouët, Yves Bruneau, 1986, p. n.7.81

For a complete set, see:
– Sotheby’s, Monaco, Collection Hervouët I, 22 June 1987, lot 1601

For a pattipan with the same decoration, see:
– Choice of the Private Trader, David. S. Howard, p.161, fig. 177

The decoration of the saucer is based on the engraving “Coquette qui pour voir galans au rendez-vous” by Henri Simon Thomassin (1654–1733).

The engraving was itself inspired by the painting Les Acteurs de la Comédie-Française, also known as La Mascarade, by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), painted between 1711 and 1718 (see illustration above). The title of the painting has changed several times, until its subject was clarified through studies of Watteau’s drawings and identified as depicting actors of the Comédie-Française.

The painting, and thus the design on the saucer, shows, from left to right:
Charlotte Desmares, who joined the Comédie-Française in 1698 and became a sociétaire in 1699;
Philippe Poisson, member since 1700 and sociétaire from 1704;
The two central figures remain unidentified;
And on the far right, Pierre Le Noir, actor in the King’s troupe from 1671 and sociétaire of the Comédie-Française in 1684.

A small missing part along the edge has been filled in, restoration of the highest quality.

More information and photos available upon request.