A Vincennes bleu-céleste ground ewer (broc 'Roussel') probably bought by Madame de Pompadour for Bellevue, dated 1754

Footnotes

Provenance:
Probably purchased by Madame de Pompadour for the Château de Bellevue in June 1754;
Property from the Estate of Joseph Gruss, Christie's New York, 26 April 1994, lot 79

Literature:
Rosalind Savill, Everyday Rococo - Madame de Pompadour and Sèvres Porcelain (2021), Vol. I, fig.11.24

Exhibited:
London, Bonhams, 'Everyday Rococo - Madame de Pompadour and Sèvres Porcelain, an exhibition in honour of Dame Rosalind Savill', 5 - 17 December 2021

The ewer is very probably the one Madame de Pompadour purchased with its basin (broc Roussel et jatte bord de relief) through Lazare Duvaux for the Château de Bellevue at a cost of 600 livres, see Savill op.cit. pp.377f. Ros Savill suggests the matching basin was probably the one sold by Sotheby's with another ewer, see Savill op.cit. fig. 11.25. Duvaux charged her on 23 June, but due to her daughter's death on 15 June 1754 it seems likely he was charging her for pieces she had chosen earlier, as kiln records show her purchases were fired between April and June 1754 (Savill op.cit. p.377).

MADAME DE POMPADOUR

Marquise de Pompadour, born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson (1721-1764), and known as Madame de Pompadour, was the official chief mistress, maîtresse-en-titre, to Louis XV, King of France. She was also a major patron of the arts and a driving force for the porcelain production at Vincennes and Sèvres.

Jeanne Antoinette Poisson was born on 29 December 1721 in Paris to François Poisson and Madeleine de La Motte. However, it was suspected that her biological father was actually the rich financier Jean Pâris de Monmartel or the fermier général, Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem, who became her legal guardian, when François Poisson had to leave the country in 1725 for a number of unpaid debts. When she was 9 years old her mother took her to a fortune teller who foretold that Jeanne would one day win the heart of a King. From then on, she was nicknamed 'Reinette' (little queen) and her education tailored to making her the King's mistress. At the age of 19 she married Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles, the nephew of her guardian and newly appointed sole heir to his estate. The couple had a daughter, Alexandrine-Jeanne Le Normant d'Étiolles, who was born in August 1744 and who would tragically die of illness at the young age of 9 in 1754.

In 1744 Jeanne Antoinette caught the King's eye during his hunt in the forest of Sénart, which bordered her estate at Étiolles. Louis XV had already heard of her as early as 1742, due to her involvement with all the best Paris salons. After his current mistress, Madame de Châteauroux, died in December 1744, the King invited Jeanne Antoinette to attend a masked ball on 25 February at Versailles on the occasion of the marriage of the Dauphin to Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain, where he publicly declared his affection for her. Shortly thereafter she was installed as his mistress in a palace apartment above his and officially separated from her husband. Having been made Marquise de Pompadour in June, she was officially presented at court on 14 September 1745.

Madame de Pompadour quickly mastered the intricacies of court etiquette and intrigue, putting herself in good standing with the Queen and becoming the undisputed favourite, the maîtresse-en-titre. As such, she wielded immense influence at court, politically and as a patron of the arts, becoming a duchess in 1752 and lady-in-waiting to the Queen in 1756, the highest rank for a woman at court. Even after their sexual relationship ended, Madame de Pompadour stayed the King's close advisor and confidante, remaining as official mistress until her death from tuberculosis at the age of 42 in 1764.