The Sèvres Elephant Garniture and the Politics of Dispersal during the French Revolution

Abstract

Pink ribbons crisscross around the curved bellies of two porcelain vases, each crowned with a pair of bejeweled white elephant heads. Their curled tusks flank a large potpourri vase in the form of an extravagant ship. This ensemble has held pride of place in the Wrightsman Galleries for the French Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, demonstrating the exceptional craftsmanship of the Sèvres royal porcelain manufactory in executing Rococo flights of fantasy for royal and aristocratic patrons in mideighteenthcentury France (fig. 1). The garniture exemplified the French court’s predilection for Sèvres porcelain, which was exchanged as diplomatic gifts and prominently displayed on the mantels and tables of wealthy European residences. In subsequent centuries, Sèvres royal porcelain