A Saint-Cloud Sugar Bowl and Cover, circa 1720-40
This Saint-Cloud sugar bowl and cover, with its gadrooned moulding and painted Bérainesque ornaments, mirrors the ornate Baroque gold and silver creations of artisans working in precious metals in Europe during the late Seventeenth and early Eighteenth Centuries. It would have seemed entirely appropriate that an exotic, imported commodity such as sugar be served from a container proclaiming its luxury status. This notion is amplified by the fact that porcelain was only available to the very wealthy at this time.
StCT mark to the base in underglaze blue.
Provenance: An English Private Collection.
Condition: A small flat chip to the edge of the bowl rim has been restored, and there is a tiny chip to the flange on the underside of the cover. There are a few minor manufacturing flaws, including a small indentation to the rim of the bowl which occurred during potting and was subsequently glazed and fired. The glaze to the interior base contains kiln dust and speckling, and there are a couple of small clay tears to the underside from firing. The shade of cobalt blue fired slightly darker on the base than the cover.
Dimensions: Height (to top of knop) 9.5 cm
Discovering the Secrets of Soft-Paste Porcelain at the Saint-Cloud Manufactory, c.1690-1766, Bertrand Rondot, Ed. (BGC / Yale, 1999).