Sevres table salt, flowers by Mademoiselle Binet, dated 1793

Sold

Sevres pate tendre open salt, of raised oval form with moulded panels with feuilles-de-choux blue feathering around flower sprays, a gilt line to rim and foot.
Crossed l’s mark flanked by:
‘qq’ , date code for 1793
‘Sc’ , artists code for Mme Binet

8.5×6.5cm, 4cm high
Good condition with very little sign of use, two miniscule chips to foot

Mademoiselle Binet, nee Sophie Chanou, was a painter of flowers 1779-98.
The previous year, she worked on the fabulous ‘Service aux Arabesques’ now in the Hermitage, featuring large central flower groups tied with ribbons (ref. 1021-29), and in 1793 would have marked very few pieces with ‘qq’, as this was the year the revolution caught up with the royal Sevres factory, and the crossed L’s of the King were removed from their mark in favour of the patriotic ‘RF’ for Republic Francaise.
This is recorded as happening on 21st September 1793, giving a 9-month period in which this could have been made.
Mme Binet was married to a Sevres ‘thrower’ named Joseph-Francois Binet, who commenced work at Sevres in 1776; he was second-generation, his father Francois having come to the fledgling Vinvennes/Sevres factory in 1750, after being trained in fan painting, and worked up to his death in 1775. The Sevres workers were often closely related – her sister-in-law was a gilder at the works from 1775.

Sold - let us find you another