A 19th-century French chromolithograph of Sèvres porcelain painted in rose camaïeu, from Édouard Garnier's celebrated study of Sèvres soft-paste porcelain. Camaïeu means painting in shades of a single color, and here every scene is in soft crimson pink. A cup and saucer show plump cherubs at rest in leafy landscapes, and a second cup has a cherub among flowering branches. Below them, a shaped oval basin is twined with garlands of tiny roses, and a matching jug carries ribbon-tied bouquets and a band of rose swags. Each piece is finished with a gold dentil rim. Sèvres interlaced L marks are printed beside the pieces, including the date letter B, for 1754. It is framed in gilt modern frame with a rope twist edge and a beaded inner border, and it is lovely in a bedroom, a powder room, or a dressing room.
Chromolithography was the finest color printing process of the 19th century. Each color was drawn by hand onto its own limestone block, and the sheet was pressed against every stone in turn, sometimes a dozen or more, with each impression aligned precisely over the last. Here the gold was printed in metallic ink so it catches the light as gilding would.
- Origin: France
- Age: Late 19th century (Circa 1880)
- Medium: Chromolithograph with metallic gold on paper
- Details: Sèvres cups, saucer, basin, and jug in rose camaïeu with cherubs and rose garlands, gold dentil rims, printed Sèvres marks; gilt frame with rope twist and beaded edge, glazed
- Dimensions: 18.5 by 13.5
- Condition: Good antique condition with light toning to the paper consistent with age.
