Six-piece tea service
Sèvres Manufactory French
Decorator Antoine-Louis Fontelliau French
Not on view
Tea sets made for a single user such as this one, which has one cup and saucer, with an accompanying tray, milk jug, and sugar bowl, have been described as “solitaire” or “égoïste” services, although the Sèvres manufactory more typically referred to tea services in the eighteenth-century as cabarets. The novel decoration found on this set, which consists of an undulating burgundy ribbon interlaced with a blue and gold zigzag pattern, attests to the royal porcelain manufactory’s experiments in decoration, as it catered to bespoke orders rather than readymade sets for wider consumption. During the ancien régime, Sèvres made a wide variety of tea sets for elite patrons, who took their tea in bedrooms, boudoirs, salons, and even in the bath.
