Tray

Round lidded bowls of this model were in production by 1752 at Vincennes and were made in large numbers first there and later at Sèvres for the rest of the century. Not part of larger dinner services, they were called écuelles and used for drinking bouillon or soup between meals. They were made in a variety of sizes, shapes, and decoration. This model, with the handles on the bowl in the form of two intertwined scrolls and a low domed lid with a knop in the form of a raised branch with leaves and berries, was the most common. This example is of the second largest size made in this form and is one of the earliest known.
Écuelles were paired with shallow trays of matching decoration. The trays were made in a variety of models, both oval and round, each having a round depression in the center to accommodate the foot of the bowl. This example with shaped edges is of one of the earlier, more elaborate models called a plateau à ornements. This form is not recorded in the Sèvres documents before 1755, but is known to have been made earlier.
The bowl and tray are decorated with an overglaze pink ground color that had only recently been introduced at Sèvres. Both have white reserves painted in polychrome with flowers. The flanking reserves on the tray also depict fruit. Except for that in the center of the tray, each reserve is edged with a gilded cartouche of scrolls, flowers, and foliage; each cartouche being of slightly different design. The gilding is tooled and carmine enamel was added after the gilding to enhance and give depth to these patterns.