The Chantilly porcelain manufactory was established in 1726 by Louis-Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, when he was banished from Paris and Versailles by Louis XV’s chief minister due to his problematic political affiliations. Based at the Prince’s Château de Chantilly, the manufactory produced soft-paste porcelain and constantly sought to discover the elusive secret recipe (or arcanum, as it was then known) for producing true hard-paste porcelain. The Prince was a great admirer and collector of Japanese ceramics and this was reflected in the design of Chantilly’s tablewares, often painted in imitation of Japanese designs. This tea bowl is decorated in polychrome enamels depicting the ‘Yellow Squirrel’ pattern, composed of wheat sheaves and flying squirrels among turquoise bamboo poles and foliate ornament.
