The distinctive pale blue ground, sometimes known as petit verd, used at Sèvres for a comparatively short time between 1759/60 and 1763, is lighter in tone than the more widely produced bleu céleste (turquoise blue). The two colours were often not differentiated in the Sèvres records, as only subtle differences in tone separate them.

The reserve on the vase depicts a traditional Teniers scene, with five peasants drinking outside an inn. David Teniers the Younger (1610-90)

One of the earliest and most important champions of the Sèvres manufactory was Madame de Pompadour, who was known to have had a marked taste for the petit verd ground and assembled a number of striking pieces of extravagant shape and ornament decorated with this unusual colour.

Text adapted from French Porcelain for English Palaces, Sèvres from the Royal Collection, London, 2009