Plate 1771 - 1772

Curator: Here we have a plate created between 1771 and 1772 by the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. It’s currently part of the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. Editor: My first impression is whimsical elegance, that robin's egg blue is dreamy. I almost feel like I could use it at a very fancy garden party. Curator: Indeed! The plate embodies Rococo sensibilities through its use of porcelain, a precious material at the time, showcasing elaborate hand-painted designs. These pieces played a significant role in courtly rituals of display and dining. Editor: The central monogram and the little scenes with the birds, are those individually painted, or transferred somehow? There is real care put in the details. I wonder, could you imagine eating off this everyday? Curator: Each element is meticulously hand-painted. Such plates were made to reflect and enhance the status of the elite who commissioned them. Consider the labor and resources poured into each individual piece. The value lay as much in its utility as a eating vessel, as in its expression of privilege and refinement. Editor: And it’s incredible that it still survives. I find it wild how much importance was put on making everyday items into status symbols, I'm kind of struck by the idea of dinner as a spectacle. Curator: Exactly, and consider how each motif —the birds, the gold filigree, the carefully chosen hue of blue— speaks to specific aesthetic tastes and cultural values of that period. Editor: It feels distant and precious and somehow very personal, you know? Seeing the care put in creating it almost humanizes a moment in the past that I otherwise wouldn’t consider so thoroughly. It feels nice, like leaving a little secret message in the museum for someone. Curator: Reflecting on this plate really brings forth the material world of the eighteenth century, providing a unique insight into production, consumption, and artistry during that era. Editor: Absolutely. It makes me think about who designed this, what their day was like, how they felt bringing something so lovely into the world.