Soup bowl
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
Category
Ceramics
Date
1760 - 1815
Materials
Ceramic
Place of origin
Sèvres
Order this imageCollection
Chartwell, Kent
NT 1101311
Summary
One of three Sevres dinner services of similar designs - white with gilt decoration and the 'N' cypher of Napoleon III, with plain vine-leaf and scroll foliage borders, 1969 Schedule P. 132.
Full description
Sevres Porcelain – Circa 1854-70. Monogram and crown in gilt. Used at the court of Louis Napoleon III This dinner service was purchased by Clara Jerome (WSC’s maternal Grandmother) in May 1871. Clara and her daughters were regular guests at the Tuileries Palace, (Paris) court of Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie from 1867. War between Prussia and France caused the break-up of Napoleon’s reign and riots broke out all over Paris. The Jerome’s left for London in January 1871, but returned to secure their Paris house in May the same year. On their return Clara saw the Napoleonic china being auctioned off on the lawns of the Royal Palace and successfully bid for it. She then hired a cart to carry it back to her house. The china remained with Clara until her death. As she bequeathed 2/3rds of her estate to her eldest daughter Clarita and the remaining 1/3 to Leonine her youngest daughter, the china was given to Clarita, who in turn left it to her daughter Clare Sheridan. In 1945 Clare needed money to pay taxes and offered to sell the china to her first cousin Winston Churchill. He was delighted to buy it for £150 and it arrived at No 10 on 3rd April 1945.
Marks and inscriptions
'N' cypher
Makers and roles
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory , french national porcelain manufacturer