Ewer and basin; soft-paste porcelain with silver mounts
Vincennes, c. 1753–1754

In the eighteenth century, ewers and their matching basins were not used in the kitchen or at the dining table, as we might readily assume today. Instead, they formed part of the daily morning toilette, a ritual performed in the bedchamber or other private rooms.¹ A set of this kind would have stood on the dressing table of a wealthy lady or gentleman and was used for washing the hands in between dressing, arranging one’s hair, applying cosmetics and putting on a wig – all of which were elaborate and time-consuming processes.

The Vincennes manufactory began producing matching ewers and basins in the early 1750s, competing fiercely with Chinese and Japanese porcelain, Meissen and other French manufactories. This pear-shaped ewer (known as a pot à l’eau tourné) and its matching oval basin (jatte ovale de pot à l’eau) were made of soft-paste porcelain at Vincennes around 1753–54.² Both have a turquoise ground known as bleu céleste, with white reserves painted with colourful birds in flight. Gilding accentuates the rims and the pronounced relief decoration on both the ewer and basin.

Bleu céleste is a distinctive and costly ground colour, initially known as bleu ancien. It is characterised by its subtly opalescent, velvety surface. Developed by Jean Hellot (1685–1766), chief chemist at the Sèvres manufactory, it was introduced for the extensive dinner and dessert service commissioned by Louis XV of France in 1753. Thereafter, bleu céleste was regarded as one of the manufactory’s most luxurious and prestigious ground colours, being both expensive to produce and technically demanding to use. Its exclusivity meant that it was reserved for commissions from the French court, the aristocracy and a select number of other European royal and princely houses.³