A porcelain bowl once owned by Marie Antoinette is expected to fetch up to £1.8 million at auction after being rediscovered in Paris following more than two centuries of obscurity. The five-inch ceramic piece, shaped to resemble a breast, was found among a collection at Galerie Meyer and is set to go under the hammer at Coutau-Begarie in Paris on November 26.
This bowl is part of an exceptionally rare set of four Sèvres porcelain pieces commissioned by King Louis XVI for the queen’s dairy at Rambouillet Castle in 1787 and 1788. The origin of the design traces back to the ancient Greek mastos, a breast-shaped drinking vessel used at banquets, with the porcelain bowl believed to derive from items in the Denon collection transferred to the Sèvres manufactory in 1786.
According to a Coutau-Begarie spokesman, the bowl resurfacing after more than 200 years is a significant event for collectors and historians alike. It is considered the last known example of this unique model, with the other three housed in museums, including two in the Musée National de Céramique in Sèvres, France, and one at the Duca di Martina Museum in Naples, Italy.
The bowl’s provenance suggests it was originally removed from the Rambouillet estate by Marie Josephe Rose, Marquise de Chanaleilles, and remained within her family before becoming part of the Galerie Meyer collection.
The Rambouillet estate, located about 30 miles southwest of Paris, was acquired by Louis XVI in 1783. The king commissioned the ornamental dairy to please Marie Antoinette, who had previously disparaged the castle as a “gothic toadhouse.” The dairy, complete with pieces such as this porcelain bowl, was part of efforts to provide the queen with a pastoral retreat amid the palace’s opulence.
Marie Antoinette, born in 1755 as Archduchess of Austria and daughter of Emperor Francis I, married the future Louis XVI at age 14. Her reputation suffered during her lifetime due to perceptions of extravagance, leading to the pejorative nickname “Madame Deficit.” Following the French Revolution, the royal family’s attempted escape in 1791 ended with their capture and house arrest. The monarchy was abolished in 1792, and Louis XVI was executed in January 1793, followed shortly by Marie Antoinette.
The upcoming auction underscores continued interest in artifacts connected to the last queen of France and the tumultuous period that marked the end of the Ancien Régime. The estimated sale price for the bowl ranges from £1.3 million to £1.8 million (€1.5 million to €2 million).