This astonishing biscuit sculpture is the central piece of the 800-piece table service commissioned in 1777 by Catherine II, empress of Russia (r. 1762–96), and delivered two years later in Saint Petersburg. Louis- Simon Boizot modeled its design in accordance with strict instructions received from Russia: to create a centerpiece depicting allegories of the arts and sciences that pay homage to Catherine, whose bust was to crown a central column. The Russian sovereign disliked her bust however, and had it replaced by one of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and justice and patron of the arts. Boizot’s decision to group all the allegories on the same rock was likely inspired by the Parnasse français (French Parnassus), a large bronze sculpture made in 1718 by Louis Garnier (ca. 1639–1728) that features Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715) as Apollo in the central position.

This table centerpiece was the undisputed masterpiece from the Sèvres Manufactory exhibited at the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris. It features fifteen different dancing female figures, their sinuous, high-waisted dresses, large sleeves, and billowing scarves emphasizing their movements. Sculptor Agathon Léonard (1841–1923) was inspired by the “serpentine dance” created by the American dancer Loïe Fuller (1862–1928) in 1891. Fuller’s innovative choreography performed with silk costumes illuminated by multicolored lighting of her own design became a true embodiment of the Art Nouveau movement. In October 1901, an example of this centerpiece was offered as a diplomatic gift to the tsar and the empress consort of Russia (r. 1894–1917), who gave it to the Hermitage—the first example of Art Nouveau to enter the collection of the Russian museum.

Sculptor Andrea Branzi (b. 1938) invokes the storied tradition of royal patronage at Sèvres by giving this piece the name of a fictitious French king, Louis XXI. Similarly, his choice of material—soft-paste biscuit porcelain—makes clear the continuous transmission of artisanal knowledge at the manufactory. This set comprises eight coupes, chalices, and forms he describes as “corollas,” complemented by three undulating candlesticks on delicate bases. While independent, the different pieces are grouped to suggest, according to Branzi’s vision, “a family of mushrooms, sea anemones, or sexual organs.”

Anne (b. 1941) and Patrick Poirier (b. 1942) are a French art duo whose practice encompasses sculpture, architecture, and archaeology. Their artworks often explore the complicated legacy of classical art and architecture in the modern world. For this centerpiece, entitled Ruins of Egypt, they collaborated with the Sèvres Manufactory to create a miniature version of the Egyptian Temple of Philae, reveling in its grandeur and decay. This work refers to the Egyptian Centerpiece made for Napoleon I in 1808, which was based on illustrations from Voyage dans la Basse et dans la Haute Égypte (Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt), by Dominique-Vivant Denon, the artist, diplomat, and archaeologist who accompanied Bonaparte on his Egyptian Campaign. The Poiriers chose materials emblematic of the manufactory’s traditions: biscuit pâte Antoine d’Albis embellished with gold and bleu de Sèvres.

Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007), the Italian designer and founder of the Memphis movement, designed this contemporary centerpiece for Sèvres during his first residency at the manufactory between 1994 and 1996. He used a range of traditional shaping techniques to create the set’s components: a circular central base into which seven columns are inserted, surrounded by eleven smaller mobile elements. Realized in white biscuit soft- paste porcelain, Surtout Sottsass is sumptuously adorned in burnished gold. The geometric play of simple shapes—spheres, cups, and cylinders— stacked to evoke more complex forms, echoes that of Vase Diane, created during the same residency.