11th Feb, 2025 10:00
Holkham | The Attic Sale
227
A Republican Sèvres porcelain 'beau bleu' dessert service
c.1800, each piece with gilt-heightened painted panels enclosing botanical specimens, within gilt borders worked with anthemia and scrolls, the names of the specimens painted in blue underneath with interlaced 'RF' monogram, 'Sevres' and various painters' marks, comprising:
39 assiettes, or dessert plates,
4 compotier ovales, or oval dishes,
4 compotiers carrés, or square cushion dishes,
4 compotiers coquilles, or shell dishes,
2 oval sucriers, with covers and integral stands,
12 tasses à glaces, or ice cream cups,
2 soucoupes à pied, or ice cup stands,
2 seaux à bouteilles, or wine bottle coolers,
2 seaux à liqueur ovales à deux compartiments, or bottle coolers with two compartments,
2 seaux à glace, or ice pails and covers, one with a liner,
4 seaux crénellés, or monteiths, and
a mortier de jatte à punch, or punchbowl,
ice pails 19cm diameter
21cm high (78)
Literature: David Peters, 'Sevres Plates and Services of the 18th Century', 2005, service no. 00-9, pp.1249-1250.
The present service was purchased by Maison Lemercier et Compagnie. The primary record of the service is Register 12 in the Sèvres Sales Register (MNC Vy’12, f.182v and f.183r). A secondary record of the invoice is held in the Archives Nationales, France (AN F 23335, An IX). Two matching tureens are held in the National Ceramics Museum at Sèvres.
The earliest mention of the present service in Holkham's archives is in 1897, listed as an heirloom and marked 'Republic Francaise' (French Republic). Given that this was the service's first appearance in any inventory, it is safe to assume it was part of the 2nd Earl's (1822-1909) collection and it is plausible that it was a wedding present on the occasion of his second marriage, to Hon. Georgina Cavendish, in 1875. Alternatively, it is also possible that he inherited the service from the family's Derbyshire estate, Longford Hall, as it was common for items to move between the houses throughout the 1st and 2nd Earls' tenures.
£20,000 - £30,000
Buyer's premium: 30.00% (inclusive of VAT, where applicable)
Condition Report
39 x plates, 24cm diameter, 10 with rim chips, 2 rivetted, some further wear to gilding
4 x oval dishes, 26.5cm long x 19cm wide, 1 broken in two and riveted
4 x cushion dishes, 20.5cm square, 1 with extensive lossed to rim gilding, 1 rivetted, 2 with minor losses to rim gilding
4 x shell dishes, 22cm deep x 23cm wide, 1 with very small rim chip and rubbing to central gilt border, 1 broken and rivetted, chips and losses to rim around the break, 1 with wear to central gilt border, another rivetted
2 x oval sucriers with covers and integral stands, 22cm long x 9cm high
12 x twelve tasses à glaces, 6cm high, 1 with hairline crack, 2 chips to foot, 2 chips to rim
2 x soucoupes à pied, 22cm diameter x 3.5cm high
2 x seaux a bouteilles or wine bottle coolers
2 x seaux a liquer ovale 30cm long x 11cm high
2 x ice pails and covers 21cm high x 19cm diameter
4 x oval twin handled crenelles or monteiths, 30cm long x 12cm high, 1 with a small chip to the foot. 1 with 2 small chips to the crenelles. 1 with 3 small chips to interior of crenelles. 1 with small piece detached from a crenelle but present and a firing crack
1 x mortier, 16.5cm high x 21.3cm diameter, with covers and one liner, 1 pail and cover extensively restored
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Auction: Holkham | The Attic Sale, 11th Feb, 2025
Sworders are honoured to present Holkham | The Attic Sale. Under the instruction of Thomas Edward Coke, 8th Earl of Leicester, this once-in-a-lifetime auction marks a historic first for the Norfolk estate and will showcase over 400 treasures from the storerooms, attics, and cellars of the great Palladian house.
The sale is led by a group of Roman marble fragments collected by the 1st Earl on his grand tour, as well as several 18th- and 19th-century plaster busts. Other highlights include a Louis XV Gobelins mythological tapestry and a Republican Sèvres porcelain 'beau bleu' dessert service, which sit beside an array of Victorian china, clocks, and plenty of furniture, blending high-value pieces with more accessible items to capture the spirit of the classic ‘attic sale.’
Printed catalogues are available to pre-order here.
Condition Report Requests: Please note that due to restricted access to the sale lots, any enquiries will not be dealt with until week commencing Monday 3 February 2025. Your patience is appreciated.
Viewing
Sale Location
The auction will take place at Holkham Hall, Wells-next-the Sea, Norfolk NR23 1AB.
Viewing
Viewing will be held at Holkham Hall, Wells-next-the Sea, Norfolk. Use the postcode NR23 1RH to enter Holkham via the north gates.
Entrance by catalogue only, admits two, includes parking.
Friday 7 February, 11am - 3pm
Saturday 8 February, 11am - 3pm
Sunday 9 February, 11am - 3pm
Monday 10 February, 11am - 3pm
All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description.
Condition Report Requests: Please note that due to restricted access to the sale lots, any enquiries will not be dealt with until week commencing Monday 3 February 2025. Your patience is appreciated.
Accessibility
Holkham Hall aims to accommodate all accessibility needs where possible. Full details about access are available here
Refreshments
Available from the Courtyard Cafe
Friday 7 - Monday 10 February, 10.30am - 3pm
Tuesday 11 February, 9.30am - 5pm
Full Terms & Conditions relating to our auctions can be found here
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Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here
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