Darte Freres Floral Cup & Saucer

This is a superb Empire period cup and saucer made at Rue de Charonne in the Paris region better known by their mark Darte Freres . The Darte Brothers founded the factory in 1795 and tranferred it to Rue de la Roquette in the early 19th century. They again moved to Rue Popincourt and it stayed there until the end. They also managed a decorating studio in the Palais Royal. They made some really nice pieces - some of the nicest from this region. This set is hand painted with a superb floral design that reminds me a bit of the fleur en terrasse pieces made by KPM in Germany. Here we have lots of different flowers "growing" out of the ground all around the rim of the saucer and outside of the cup. There is an off white ground color behind them which makes it look even more amazing. Lots of gilding finish the pieces off and make them look really elegant. The handle shape of the cup has a bird in the center and it is fully gilded as is the inside of the cup except for the bottom. The set displays very nicely but there is a bit of wear to the gilding, a chip to the outside edge of the cup (opposite the handle so when on display it's not obvious, a firing flaw on the edge near the handle and a hairline to the rim of the saucer almost impossible to find from the top. The saucer is marked with the red DARTE Palais Royal mark with No and then some illegible number behind it under the mark. The cup is unmarked which is not unusual. The cup is 3.875 inches tall including the handle which sticks up about 0.875 inches above the rest of the cup and just over 4 inches in diameter. The saucer is 1.375 inches tall and 6.75 inches in diameter. Rather large which makes it look even better! Please email me for more information or other pictures.