Haviland Limoges “Tsar” Grand Siècle Twenty-Piece Service

Four five-piece place settings in cobalt blue and hand-applied 24-carat pure gold

A complete twenty-piece service in Haviland’s discontinued “Tsar” pattern from the prestigious Grand Siècle collection. Brilliant white Limoges porcelain is framed by broad cobalt-blue borders, richly worked with scrolling foliage, elegant cartouches and floral ornament in hand-applied 24-carat pure gold. The cups are distinguished by fully gilt handles, while the plates carry broad cobalt borders densely articulated with the characteristic Tsar gilt decoration. Comprising four complete five-piece place settings, the service has the formal presence of grand European tableware, with cobalt blue, white porcelain and gold combining to striking effect. Each piece bears the official Haviland Grand Siècle Limoges backstamp, recording its manufacture at Limoges, hand-decoration in France and the use of 24-carat gold.

Purchased from the Daum-Haviland boutique, 499 Park Avenue, New York, 15 February 2014; subsequently by descent. Accompanied by the original invoice, No. 30600.

Thomas Goode & Co, Mayfair confirmed official pattern reference no. 14872.

The “Tsar” pattern is now discontinued. Complete services are encountered far less frequently than individual replacement pieces, giving this twenty-piece set particular presence and rarity. Its dense gold scrollwork against saturated cobalt-blue borders gives the pattern an unusually opulent and ceremonial character within Haviland’s Grand Siècle collection.