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Service de Poupee

1925? Two cream-colored small plates 5" in diameter with 2½" green-and-blue stencilled figures of FS and FC at the center. Around the central picture runs a yellow band. Most likely made by Montereau or Choisy-le-Roi. The theme of this tea-service set for children or "service de poupée" was, no doubt, the fables of La Fontaine. $20.50 from Mary Ellen Kennedy, Larchmont, NY through Ebay, Nov., '99. poupeefs.jpg (25365 bytes) poupeeFC.jpg (27365 bytes)

I was and am sure that there must be a number of such sets around France, and so I was delighted to find these two little dishes on Ebay. Their paint-work is very attractive. Particularly well done is the stance of the fox with one paw on the vase he cannot penetrate for its food, while the stork does so easily. The two-color approach, which works effectively here, means that the cheese in the crow's mouth is green! Both plates seem to have a registry mark of "Z" inprinted in their backs, and FC adds a "P."