The most important French porcelain factory was founded in 1740, in the Château Royal de Vincennes. In 1756 it transferred to Sèvres, on the other side of Paris, and shortly afterwards was bought by Louis XV at the request of his mistress Madame de Pompadour. This teapot was made by the Sèvres factory in 1785, and was possibly gilded by Philippe Parpette and painted by Antoine-Toussaint Cornaille, two of the factory’s most accomplished decorators. Cornaille was employed at the factory from 1755-1800, specialising in the painting of flowers and fruit, while Parpette (active 1755-1806) specialised in the precise technique of creating foils for gilt detail. This teapot would have once been part of a ‘cabaret’ or ‘déjeuner’ set, a complete service with a matching tray for just one or two people. The form of this teapot is known as ‘Calabre’, a shape which first came into use at the Vincennes factory and which was named after one of the factory’s shareholders, Pierre Calabre.
