Partial Nast Paris Porcelain Tea Service

Description:

Partial Nast Paris Porcelain Tea Service, France, early 19th century, each gilded and with hand-painted portraits of women, in both classical and contemporary dress, including a covered urn on pedestal, total ht. 12, covered teapot, ht. 6 3/4, creamer, ht. 7 3/4, waste bowl, ht. 5, and ten cups and saucers, each on three paw feet, urn, teapot, creamer, waste bowl and some cups and saucers inscribed "Nast" or "Nast a Paris" in gold, with pine container bearing paper label for Parke Bernet, New York, ht. 15, wd. 23 1/4, dp. 15 3/4 in.

Provenance: Purportedly owned by Napoleon and used when on campaign, then abandoned by his entourage during their 1812 retreat from Moscow. Subsequently looted by troops under the command of General, later Field-Marshall, Barclay de Tolly, a descendant of the Scottish clan Barclay. Inherited by the English branch of the family until 1912-13 when a member of the Barclay family gifted the service to a member of the Buxton family (probably the third Baronet),to commemorate the latter's golden wedding anniversary. By decent within the Buxton family until September 13, 1978, when Sir Thomas Fowell Victor Buxton, the sixth Baronet, sold it to the Tinney Family of Belcourt Castle, Newport, Rhode Island for $2,961.44. It has remained in the Donald Tinney Collection at Belcourt Castle until now. A copy of a statement written by Buxton in conjunction with the 1978 sale describes the above chain of ownership and accompanies the lot.
Estimate $4,000-6,000

All with scattered enamel flakes and minor rubbing to gilt.
Covered urn: Cover may not be original. Urn loose on pedestal.
Creamer: Heavily restored, with multiple breaks to upper body and handle. Some re-gilding.
Waste bowl: Large hairline with associate rim chips (currently held together with scotch tape). Repaired breaks to one handle with some re-gilding.
Cups: Two with crude repairs to handle, rim chip, and two feet. Two with repaired breaks to handle and one foot (one also with small chip to underside). One with repair to one foot. One with rim chip and associated hairline crack, and break to old crude repair to handle.
Saucers: One with repaired rim chip. One with crude repairs to rim and one foot. Two with repairs to one foot.

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