"Histoire naturelle des oiseaux" (1770-1786), by the influential French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, is the source for the birds on this and several other Sèvres services. The scientific names of the birds appear on the saucers, revealing the widespread interest in the natural world at the time and efforts to codify it. During the revolutionary years, the factory produced several services decorated with yellow rims and black stylized "Etruscan borders."

Bequest of Marjorie Merriweather Post, 1973

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