[Illustration: Fig. 267.--Franklin Vase. Sèvres. Blue and Gold. Inscription on Vase, "Vue de la Maison de Franklin à Passy." (White House.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 268.--Sèvres Porcelain Tea-Set. (Curtis Coll., Boston Museum of Fine Arts.)]
To give an idea of the value of the Sèvres porcelain, it may be mentioned that Napoleon, following an example set by Louis XV., sent to the King of Etruria a vase worth about sixty thousand dollars. Tea-sets worth $1000, vases at $1500 and $5000, are mentioned as being in the royal collection in England.
[Illustration: Fig. 269.--Washington's "Cincinnati" Sèvres.]
[Illustration: Fig. 270.--Mrs. Washington's Sèvres Tea-Service.]
There are several specimens of Sèvres porcelain, formerly preserved at Arlington House, and now in the Patent Office at Washington, to which a historical interest attaches. There are, firstly, some pieces of the "Cincinnati China" (Fig. 269) presented to George Washington by the French officers who fought in the continental army. They are white, with deep-blue bands of leaves and scroll-work, and have on the bottoms or sides the figure of Fame holding in her left hand the Order of the Cincinnati. There are, secondly, several remnants of the set presented at the same time, and by the same gentlemen, to Mrs. Washington (Fig. 270). The rim of each piece is surrounded by a chain of thirteen links, in each of which is the name of one of the original States. In the centre of each plate and saucer, and on the side of each of the other pieces, is the monogram of Martha Washington, surrounded by a green wreath of laurel and olive leaves. A golden aureole surrounds the wreath, beneath which is a ribbon scroll with the motto, _Decus et tutamen ab illo_. The colors are at once delicate and brilliant, and the painting admirable.
[Illustration: Fig. 271.--Limoges Porcelain. Cup and Saucer. Painted by Pallandre. (S. S. Conant Coll.)]
Manufactories rapidly sprung up in other French towns--at Niederviller, where German kaolin was used; at several places in Paris; at Bordeaux, Clignancourt, Lille, Valenciennes, Vincennes, Limoges, and elsewhere. Fauquez made porcelain at Valenciennes in 1785, and the works were taken by Lamoninary in 1787. Hannong was employed at Vincennes in 1786, and marked his pieces with two pipes crossed, with or without the letter H. The industry was afterward protected by the Duke of Chartres, when the monogram L. P. was adopted as the mark.