Ice Plate (Patelle à glace)

Sèvres Manufactory produced this Neoclassical ice plate as part of a porcelain service commissioned by Louis-Philippe, King of France from 1830-1848. Plates like this one would be used to serve ice cream, a dessert that only the wealthiest could afford to have produced. Louis-Philippe’s crowned gilt monogram appears at the center of the dish, framed by a branch of oak leaves and laurel leaves, bound together by a neatly tied bow. A heavy boarder of gold leaf frames the entire dish. Louis-Philippe abolished the practice of the Grand Couvert, the ritual of the King and Queen eating their meals before an audience as a way to reinforce hierarchy. However, he continued to use meal time to call attention to rank by commissioning Sèvres to produce different porcelain services for the various ranks in his household. Each royal residence had its own set of the different services. This ice plate is from “le service des balls,” the porcelain ware used by aristocratic guests during Louis-Philippe’s grand parties at the Chateâteau de Fontainebleau, located southeast of Paris.

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