A significant part of the collection of the Armoury Chamber is a “gift of Napoleon” that was presented to Alexander I by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801 to commemorate the Treaties of Tilzit. Such famous porcelain services as the “Olympic”, “Egyptian”, “Botanical” cabaret service and a large group of items of the best Paris productions were a part of that complex. Unfortunately, the “Egyptian” service was lost, only a few pieces remained, while the rest group of the objects of French production is quite representative and worth particular attention. One of the most valuable and famous chef d’oeuvres of porcelain from the collection of the Armoury Chamber is the “Olympic” service, produced by the masters of the Sèvres Imperial Porcelain Manufactory.

The porcelain manufactory founded by a nobleman d’Orry de Fulvy in 1738 was located in the castle Vincennes in the suburbs of Paris. The owner was granted exclusive rights to produce porcelain. He organized the production of soft-paste chinaware. The best masters from Chantilly worked in the manufactory, which determined the exceptional artistic quality of the production of first Vincennes’ and later Sèvres’ manufactories. J. Hello worked as a chemist at the factory, Jean-Jacques Bachelier headed the art workshop, and royal jeweller Jean-Claude Duplessis was a modeller. Louis XV extended patronage to the factory,  including financial support, and in 1753, he became its shareholder. At that very time, the factory acquired the title Royal Porcelain Manufactory. In 1756, it was moved to Sèvres, and in 1759 - placed under the full control of the Crown. Despite some difficulties in the technological production process due to the introduction of hard-paste porcelain, the artistic style of the Manufactory de Sèvres gained the leading role from the very beginning and became an example of excellent taste. Wonderful inventions in the sphere of porcelain colour score namely adding new paints and tinctures brought fame to the factory. Vincennes – Sèvres was the first to introduce small statuary including multi-figure compositions made of bisque (unglazed porcelain). From 1757, great sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet created models for the figurines; besides, such maitres as Clodion (Claude Michel) and Simon Boizot were also working at the factory.

After Napoleon Bonaparte had come to power, the factory changed its title to the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory de Sèvres. During this period, the enterprise produced the most large-scale and grandiose referring to the volume orders. The production of hard-paste chinaware began only in 1769, when kaolin, quarried near  Limoges, came into use.  However, the bulk of the output was still produced of soft-paste porcelain. In the early 19th century, the enterprise fully switched over to hard-paste porcelain production thanks to the new director –  outstanding scholar and chemist Alexandre Brongniart, who ensured the factory’s exceptional development for almost half a century. After the Franco-Prussian war, in 1876, the factory was transferred to Saint-Cloud and renamed as National Manufactory de Sèvres, having preserved its geographical name. A high technical level, which the factory achieved under A. Brongniart, remains unaltered until now.

The Olympic service was produced at the famous French Imperial Manufactory de Sèvres in 1804-1807s upon the order of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Assigned for the marriage of his brother Jérôme with German Princess Catharina of Württemberg, the service was shown among the presents for the newly-weds on 23 August 1807 in the Luxembourg Palace in  Paris. Already in September of the same year, the service was packed and sent to Russia as a gift to Emperor Alexander I from the Emperor of France.

The best masters of the Manufactory de Sèvres were involved in the creation of the Olympic service. Alexandre Brongniart, head of the manufactory at that time, entrusted the service design to his father Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart. Being a famous architect, who was managing the building, reconstruction and modernization of edifices erected in the 17th-18th cc., A.T. Brongniart displayed his talent as a designer to the full extent. He worked outnot only a figurative scheme but also a structure and forms of the frame items of the service, its sculptural décor. 

The service was named “Olympic” after its decorative painting borrowed from antique mythology. The scenes with love affairs of Olympic gods and heroes show not only mutual love and marital virtues, but also negative examples of jealousy, mistrust, pride, and infidelity which served as a cautionary tale about the break-up of a happy marriage.

This dessert service was decorated with a particular luxury. The number of its items amounts to 166 pcs. which is not much for such kind of a service. Among them are the bowls for fruit and confection of various forms and sizes, bottle- and glass-coolers, four ice-cream vases, Gueridon vases, sugar bowls and baskets for jasmine, and, of course, 69 wonderful dessert plates after which the service was named “Olympic”. The set also includes table decoration “Bacchus and Сeres on the Chariot Harnessed with Bulls”, two columns, crowned by the figures of Appolo and Diana, two fruit vases “Three Graces”, and two Rhytons that were created separately from the whole service. Besides, 31 small vases “for one flower” and a cabaret tea set for 12 persons which used to be served at a separate table also belong to table decoration.

The form, content and artistic decision of the service’s décor provide a remarkable example of the Empire style alluded to antique motifs. An outstanding architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart was the author of artistic design. Masterpieces by Raphael, Jean-Jacques Lagrenée, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, and Jacques-Louis David as well as antique frescoes were used as samples for painting. A great deal of monographs and articles were devoted to the monuments of the Manufactory de Sèvres. The style, created by the artists of Sèvres, dictated the fashion of porcelain decoration from the second half of the 18th till the early 19th cc.

According to the type, the “Olympic” service refers to the easel art piece that demands precise examination and interpretation. Similar masterpieces were displayed in special showcases and revered as a family relic which were handed down from one generation to another as a family tradition. Why did it happen that in September 1807, the service and other precious items of the best porcelain manufactories of Paris crossed Europe and remained forever in Russia. Napoleon Bonaparte had certain matrimonial plans regarding the junior sister of Emperor Alexander I, Grand Princess Ekaterina Pavlovna. We can assume that the “Olympic” service hinted on future union of two great nations and in prospect could have stayed in the French treasury. However, the marriage proposal did not prosper and Napoleon received a strong denial.

The masterpiece of the Manufactory de Sèvres is exposed in the Armoury Chamber, hall №5, showcase №43. You can also observe the “Olympic” service online in the frame of the virtual tour on the thematic site of the Armoury Chamber.