The Garrick Service thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 3

The Garrick Service

Cup
1764 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This tea service was bought by the famous actor, playwright and theatre manager, David Garrick (1717-1779), on a visit to Paris in 1764-1765. The tea service was made by the French royal porcelain manufactory at Sèvres. The fluted design is called 'cannelé', and was used on a range of Sèvres teaware shapes from 1754. The fluted sugar bowl was first introduced in 1764, so represents the latest fashion.

The set was probably put together by a luxury goods merchant, or marchand-mercier. The merchant would have ordered the veneered box, lined with watered silk, and probably bought the porcelain directly from Sèvres. The slop bowl, which would have been used for the dregs from cups, is very unusual in a French tea service of this date, and suggests the set may have been put together with its English client in mind.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Garrick Service
Materials and techniques
Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels and gilded
Brief description
Cup (gobelet 'cannelé'), of the second size, painted porcelain in enamels and gilded, manufactured by Sèvres porcelain factory, Sèvres, France, 1764
Physical description
Cup (gobelet 'cannelé') of the second size, soft-paste porcelain with vertical gadrooning, an ear-shaped handle, indented at the base and with an undulating rim. It is painted in enamels and gilded with a pattern of alternating red hop staves and trailing berried hops, with a blue (beau bleu) border around the rim.
Dimensions
  • Height: 60mm
  • Width: 80mm
  • Depth: 57mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Interlaced Ls enclosing date letter 'L'
  • '!' (Painter's mark for Louis-Jean Thévenet)
  • scrolling 'H' (Incised mark)
Gallery label
Tea set in travelling case 1764–65 This tea set, probably assembled by a Parisian merchant, was owned by the English actor, playwright and theatre manager David Garrick. The slop bowl, used for the dregs from cups, was very unusual in French tea services, suggesting the set may have been put together specifically for its English owner. It was made from a combination of old stock and new shapes with the same decoration. France (Paris) Made at the Sèvres factory Porcelain painted with enamels and gilded Case: oak veneered with tulipwood; watered silk lining Purchased with funds from the Captain H.B. Murray Bequest and with the support of the V&A Director’s Circle(09/12/2015)
Credit line
Purchased with funds from the Capt. H.B. Murray Bequest and with the support of the V&A Director's Circle
Object history
Due to an illness during the return journey of his European tour, David Garrick remained in Paris from late August or early September 1764 until his departure and return to London in April 1765. He likely ordered his tea service during that time, probably from a marchand-mercier.
Summary
This tea service was bought by the famous actor, playwright and theatre manager, David Garrick (1717-1779), on a visit to Paris in 1764-1765. The tea service was made by the French royal porcelain manufactory at Sèvres. The fluted design is called 'cannelé', and was used on a range of Sèvres teaware shapes from 1754. The fluted sugar bowl was first introduced in 1764, so represents the latest fashion.

The set was probably put together by a luxury goods merchant, or marchand-mercier. The merchant would have ordered the veneered box, lined with watered silk, and probably bought the porcelain directly from Sèvres. The slop bowl, which would have been used for the dregs from cups, is very unusual in a French tea service of this date, and suggests the set may have been put together with its English client in mind.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Carola Oman, David Garrick (Hodder & Stoughton, 1958), p. 256.
  • Rosalind Savill, The Wallace Collection: catalogue of Sèvres porcelain, 3 vols. (London: Trustees of the Wallace Collection, 1988), p. 560-563.
Collection
Accession number
C.67-2011

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Record createdAugust 24, 2011
Record URL
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