French Imperial China

c. 1861

Imperial Sèvres dinner set - 60 pieces total. Set was a gift to Anna Seward from Prince Jerome Napolean. 

This china, on display in the Dining Room, was a gift to the Seward family from Prince Napoléon, nephew of Napoléon I and cousin of Napoléon III. The China was made by Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, a porcelain factory in Sèvres, France that manufactured all royal, and then imperial, china. It is made in the tradition of most French porcelain, which is thicker than most Asian exports, but thinner than its British competitors. The gilded accents are real 14 karat gold and the Napoleonic mark is present on the underside.