Collection of Eight Gien “Rambouillet” Soup Plates, France

A fine group of eight hand-painted concave soup plates (assiettes creuses) from Gien’s celebrated “Rambouillet” service, designed in the 1950s by Jean Bertholle for the presidential hunting lodge at Château de Rambouillet. Each plate depicts a different woodland game scene in vivid autumnal tones — hare, pheasant, mallard, partridge, and woodcock — surrounded by a finely textured foliate ground. These deeper plates are a desirable form within the Rambouillet service, combining functional use with exceptional artistry.

All plates are in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, or repairs. Six examples bear the tall central castle backstamp with the phrase décoré à la main, a mark used by Gien from c.1960–1971. Two plates bear the earlier three-turret castle mark with ribbon, in use c.1938–1960.  This variation indicates that the group may have been assembled over time by a previous owner, though all belong to the Rambouillet series and are entirely consistent in style, quality, and hand-painted decoration.

• Woodcock / Snipe (one plate)

• Partridge (one plate)

• Mallard Duck (two plates)

• Three Rabbits (one plate)

• Pheasant (one plate)

• Single Hare (two plates)

Diameter: approx. 23 cm (9 in.)
Mark: Gien France, décoré à la main, with some bearing decorator’s initials
Condition: Excellent

Sixt of the plates in the set carry this backstamp, used from 196o to 1971

Two of the plates in the set carry this backstamp, used by Gien between 1938 and 1960 (although the Rambouillet series dates to 1955, so the two plates with this mark were made sometime between 1955 and 1960.