Style Other / Ref.15271

Sarreguemines Pottery Works for Vermont Brothers, Dinnerware set with "Views of Paris", circa 1890

This cream-colored earthenware set decorated with the arms and monuments of Paris was made by the Sarreguemines Pottery Works around 1890 and distributed by the Vermont Brother store in Paris.

The stamp on the base of each piece in the set indicates that it was a Parisian company, located near the Opera. It also indicates that this set is made of “ironstone”, a term for fine earthenware mixed with feldspar and kaolin to make it whiter and more durable; thus, it is very close to porcelain. The pieces in the set are marked with numbers and letters to individualize them on the reverse side.

The set includes thirteen large dinner plates, fourteen small plates, six soup plates, three serving dishes, and three compotes. In total, the set features sixteen different designs, as some motifs are repeated on different pieces. It includes representations of the Pantheon, the Carrousel Arc de Triomphe, the Church of the Trinity, the Opera, the Madeleine, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Étoile Arc de Triomphe, the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens, Saint Augustin’s Church, Saint Lazare’s Station, the Louvre Palace, Saint Michel’s Fountain, the Palace of Justice, and Saint-Jacques’ Tower. It also depicts the Palace of Industry, which was demolished in 1896 and replaced by the Grand Palais, indicating that the set likely dates from before its demolition.

The monuments are painted like watercolors on a blue sky with pastel colors. The top of the pieces is adorned with the coat of arms of the city of Paris standing out on a laurel branch, while the decorations are underlined by a chestnut branch at the bottom, intertwined with scrolls bearing the name of the depicted monument.

Two other sets of the same model, sold at Drouot in 2012 and at Thierry de Maigret in 2023, provide additional representations of the monuments initially depicted in this set: the Central Halls (now demolished), the Pont Neuf, Longchamps, Saint Sulpice’s Church, the Buttes Chaumont Park, the Bastille (although already destroyed when the set was made, it remains a strong symbol of Paris), the Luxembourg Palace, the Longchamps Hippodrome, etc.

This set gives a beautiful overview of the most beautiful monuments of the capital. These are represented in a state contemporary to its creation, thus evoking the Parisian landscape at the very end of the 19th century while allowing the viewer to recognize buildings that are still famous today.