Palm Beach, FL
Details
- Dimensions
- 10ʺW × 10ʺD × 5ʺH
- Styles
- French
- Designer
- Haviland & Co.
- Period
- Late 19th Century
- Country of Origin
- France
- Item Type
- Vintage, Antique or Pre-owned
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- Materials
- China
- Condition
- Good Condition, Original Condition Unaltered, Some Imperfections
- Color
- Red
- Condition Notes
- Excellent Excellent less
- Description
-
This unique and historically significant dinner set, crafted by GDA Limoges, France, for John E. Davis, a renowned Montana merchant …
more
This unique and historically significant dinner set, crafted by GDA Limoges, France, for John E. Davis, a renowned Montana merchant and artist, holds a special place in history. Davis, who honed his painting skills in Paris, maintained close ties with French artists. Among them was Emile Gerard, the artist who, together with his partner Jules Dufraisseix, purchased the porcelain manufacture from CHF Haviland in 1899. Davis ordered the set from Gerard’s company.
However, Gerard mistakenly inscribed "Butts" instead of "Butte" alongside Davis's name on the stamp. Unable to sell the set with the incorrect town name, Davis kept it for his personal use. Subsequently, he ordered four more sets from Gerard, this time without his name on them, to sell in his store. Upon arrival, he stamped them with his store's trademark, "Davis & Weimescary Co Butte Mont."
The unique set resided in Davis’ residence at 845 West Granite St, Butte, MT 59701, which Davis co-built with his twin brother Andrew, and where he lived and worked from 1891 until his untimely passing in 1913. Over time, as some pieces of his own set broke, he replaced them with pieces from the same sets from his store. Upon Davis’ demise, the set remained within the household. After his widow's demise in 1940 and that of all his descendants, subsequent owners maintained the set in the house as part of their private museum exhibition. The residence is well-known as “Twin Sisters” and is listed in The National Register of Historic Places. The exhibition was held year-round.
The set consists of 51 pieces: 7 soup bowls with a diameter of 7 1/2 inches, 7 salad plates with a diameter of 7 1/2 inches, 12 dinner plates with a diameter of 9 1/2 inches, 12 fruit bowls with a diameter of 5 1/4 inches, 10 saucers with a diameter of 5 1/2 inches, 1 oval serving plate with dimensions of 9 1/2 x 6 inches, 1 oval casserole with lid with dimensions of 6 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches, and 1 round casserole with lid with a diameter of 7 1/2 inches.
Remarkably preserved, the set exhibits minimal wear, with some plates bearing more signs of use while others retain a pristine shine.
Most pieces bear three under-glazed stamps on the bottom:
* Gerard, Defraisseix, and Abbot GDA - France in green
* CH Field Haviland Limoges mark in red
* John E. Davis ButtS, Mont mark, which is also in red.
Only 2 pieces - the oval casserole and oval serving plate - feature the stamp Davis & Weimescary Co Butte Mont instead of the under-glazed John E. Davis ButtS, Mont. less
Palm Beach, FL
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