Tureen with cover

In contrast to the large round tureens, or pot d’oille, named after the Spanish olla podrida, that were primarily reserved for stew, the present type of terrine was used for meat or fish soups or ragouts. In combination with dishes and candelabra of diverse forms, such tureens enlivened the ostentatious table setting à la française. The technical quality and refined detail of this service by Roëttiers are much finer than those of the Orloff service, which incorporated large numbers of different objects and was created under time pressure; therefore, it was either not possible or not required by the patron that each object be exquisitely finished with the same devotion to perfection as seen here. Thus both tureens offer an opportunity to compare the differences in quality and range of artistry and labor from the same famous Parisian workshop. Family tradition has it that this tureen is part of a service purchased by Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813), first chancellor of New York State, from Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816), with whom he and John Jay drafted the New York State Constitution in 1777–78. Its first owner, however, may have been a member of the European aristocracy, as the laurel motif (which also embellishes the tureens of the Second Sachsen-Teschen Service) alludes to the laurel crown, and the plant’s evergreen nature symbolizes success and princely fame.