SEVRES - Porcelain Manufactory, Cup with portrait miniature of Maria Leszczynska

by Jean Marc Nattier and floral monogram ML in saucer mirror
porcelain, enamel paints, matte engraved and glossy gilding,
heavily rubbed gilt decoration on saucer, light rubbing and scratches of gilt on cup;
phil. height 8 cm, diameter 8.2 cm; sp. height 3.4 cm, diameter 16.7 cm;
Signed with free-form engraved marks in mass (including 234, S(?), 4, 616(?),66) and in green print: in oblong oval S.60 (cup) and S.66 (saucer).
Porcelain manufactory of Sevres, Second Empire period (1852-1870)- porcelain; decoration (miniature and floral monogram) painted outside the factory.
Large lithron cup with conical saucer, with bleu céleste turquoise backgrounds and engraved floral gilding around the collar of the saucer (sprig of laurel leaves?) and on the sides of the miniature on the cup (motif of a tyre entwined with ivy). In the slatted frame on the front of the teacup a portrait bust en trois quarte of Queen Marie Leszczynska of France (1763-1768) in everyday (domestic) dress according to a portrait by Jean Marc Nattier (1685-1766) from 1748, known from replicas and copies, popularized by numerous prints; in the mirror of the saucer a ML tied monogram of small, colorful flowers.
The portrait and floral monogram of Leszczynska were probably made outside the manufactory by an experienced miniaturist, at a good artistic level. Around 1850, the factory, which was struggling economically, sold half-finished pieces with blemishes, not always signed or with incomplete signatures. The porcelain was carefully decorated and sold as Sevres wares.