A Sèvres sauceboat (saucière) from the 'Service de la Reine' ordered by Marie-Antoinette and delivered to Gustav III, King of Sweden, circa 1784
Painted by J.-F.-L. de Laroche with a band of alternating roses and cornflowers surrounded by foliate gilding on a maroon ground interspersed with four medallions enclosing pansies surrounded by a blue-ground or pink-ground pearl border between gilt beaded and laurel leaf borders, 23.5cm long, interlaced LL monogram enclosing date letter gg and painter's mark for de Laroche, gilder's mark for Henri-Martin Prévost, incised mark (one handle restuck)
Footnotes:
Provenance:
Ordered by Marie-Antoinette, and delivered to Gustav III, King of Sweden, in 1784;
Pecheteau-Badin, Paris, 14 June 2019, lot 113;
Acquired in the above sale

In early 1784 Marie-Antoinette (1755-1793), Queen of France, expressed the desire to order a new dinner service from the Sèvres manufactory. In February 1784 Antoine Régnier, the director of the manufactory, wrote to the comte d'Angiviller, the Superintendent of Buildings, Arts and Manufactures: 'La Reyne m'ayant fait dire quelle verroit une Assiette d'Echantillon pendant son diner, elle a choisi une assiette de 36 livres et ma ordonné un service Entier avec les plats. Sa Majesté en est pressée, il y a 22 ouvriers qui y travaillent' [The Queen told me that she would see a sample plate during her dinner, she chose a plate for 36 livres and ordered a full service with all dishes. Her Majesty is in a hurry, there are 22 workers working on it] (quoted in Geoffrey de Belaigue, The Louis XVI Service (1986), p.8). Already on 3 May d'Angiviller noted that the service would be finished immediately (de Bellaigue op.cit., p.8).

However, the Queen was to be denied immediate delivery of her service. Back in March of the same year Louis XVI (1754-1793) had sent an invitation to Gustav III, King of Sweden (1746-1792), to visit France, and his acceptance triggered the speedy collection of various treasures for a diplomatic gift, including the 'Service de la Reine', which was of suitably impressive quality for the Royal Gift. Travelling under the pseudonym 'comte de Haga', Gustav III arrived in Paris on 7 June 1784 and subsequently presented with the service by Louis XVI (recorded in the Journal des Présents du Roi on 23 July, see David Peters, Sèvres Plates and Services (2005, revised edition 2015), vol. III, no. 84-5, p.723). He must have been thrilled by the gift, as additional pieces were delivered on 7 September of the same year (David Peters, op.cit., no. 84-8). Marie-Antoinette in the meantime finally received her service, described as 'Service decoration riche en Couleurs et Riche en Or', consisting of a dinner and dessert service, on 26 August 1784.

Both services were almost identical in composition (apart from the additional pieces in the second delivery to Gustav III) and were listed in the artists' ledgers under the same descriptions, mainly as 'Service de la Reine'. In some cases the same decorators were involved on both (especially the assiettes), although mostly different painters worked on the two services (Peters, op.cit., no. 84-10, p. 738). De Laroche is listed as having decorated two sauceboats (saucières et plateaux) on 31 March 1784 as part of the batch of pieces that went to Gustav III, instead of Marie-Antoinette (see Peters, vol. VI, artists' list 46, p. 1375).

One handle is professionally restuck and restored with retouching to the gilt details of the handle, underneath the handle on the sauceboat, as well as a bit on on the sauceboat body on each side of the handle. There is also some restoration spray to the handle and the vicinity of the handle on the sauceboat body. There is also a bit of light wear and small scratches to the gilding on the handle.
There are some very small spots of retouching to the gilding on the other handle and some very light wear to the rest of the gilding on that handle. There are a few tiny scratches scattered here and there to the enamels of the sauceboat body and a few tiny spots of wear to the gilt rim. There are also a few very small spots of retouching to the gilt rim.
There are some typical light scratches to the glaze surface, as to be expected, mainly on the inside of the sauceboat.

Otherwise generally good condition.