Celebrating the wedding, in 1886, between Amélie, Princesse of Orléans (1865-1951) and the future King of Portugal, Carlos I (1863-1908), then Duke of Braganza and heir to the throne, this impressive service was probably a wedding gift by the prefecture of Berry to the royal couple. It bears the arms of the Orléans and of the Braganza families.

The royal couple went to live in the Palácio de Belém and Carlos ascended to the throne three years later. In 1908, the king and the couple’s eldest son Luís Filipe were assassinated, a terrible moment witnessed by the Queen who bravely tried to fight off the murderers. Two years on, the Republic was proclaimed and Amélie and king Manuel, her second son, went to exile.

Despite most of the royal collects ions having been seized by the new regime, some personal belongings and property that belonged to the ducal house of Braganza was returned, including this service, which is documented in 1913 as handed to Fernando Eduardo Serpa Pimentel, who had been the head of the Royal House Treasury: “4806 Um serviço de porcelana franceza de Pilliviyt et Cie. À Meehun, fundo branco, decoração a [fl. 656v] azul e ouro, tendo ao centro as armas de Bragança e Orleans. Composto de setenta e um pratos e dezoito fructeiros. [fl. 656] [Entregue] ao Sr. Fernando E. Serpa Pimentel em 14-11-1913 relação nº 9” (in APNA, Direcção Geral da Fazenda Pública, Arrolamento dos Paços, Paço das Necessidades, vol. II, Mantearia / Arrecadação, fl.55v. – we thank Dra. Cristina Neiva Correia, Ceramics curator of the Palácio da Ajuda, for this reference). This service was then at the Palácio das Necessidades, where Queen Amélie lived.

The number of pieces described as returned to the Queen was 71 plates and 18 footed dishes, therefore the present lot includes indeed the majority of the surviving pieces. In recent years, three other pieces of this service appeared on the market two of which were acquired by the royal Palácio da Ajuda for their collects ions.

The manufacture Pillivuyt was established in 1818 by Jean Louis Richard Pillivuyt in Meehun, in the district of Berry, and by 1830 his eldest son takes the reins of the company. By 1847 the firm opens a gallery at 46 rue de Paradis in Paris. When the age of the Universal Exhibition’s start, the firm is a constant presence and wins regularly gold medals for their works – 1855 (in Paris), 1862 (in London), 1867 (in Paris), 1878 (in Paris) and 1889 (in Paris).