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Sèvres Egyptian Service
Tableware set of the First French Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sèvres Egyptian Service is a name used for two sets of tableware made by the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres during the First French Empire. The first was produced between 1804 and 1806 for Napoleon I and was presented by him to Alexander I of Russia in 1808, as a diplomatic gift following the Treaties of Tilsit. It is now held in the State Museum of Ceramics in Russia.
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The second set was produced between 1810 and 1812. It was intended as a gift from Napoleon to Empress Joséphine. The service consisted of 72 plates with the wells depicting scenes from Egypt based on sketches made by Vivant Denon. Joséphine refused to accept the service, which she described as "too severe". It was returned to the factory and given as a gift to the Duke of Wellington by Louis XVIII in 1818, following the Bourbon Restoration. The service was purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1979 and, except for one plate, was loaned to English Heritage to display at Apsley House, London, the former residence of the first duke.