5, French Nast Factory "Ornithological" Porcelain Dessert Plates C. 1815

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**Set of 5 French Porcelain Ornithological Dessert Plates
Nast Factory, Paris, Early 19th Century**

A refined and rare matched set … Read more **Set of 5 French Porcelain Ornithological Dessert Plates
Nast Factory, Paris, Early 19th Century**

A refined and rare matched set of five ornithological dessert plates by the esteemed *Manufacture de Nast*, Paris, dating to the early 19th century. Each plate is finely painted with a unique exotic bird specimen, identified in elegant script to the reverse—*Le Guêpier de France*, *Aninga de Caienne*, *Le Sacre, femelle*, *Le Chirurgien ou Jacana du Brésil*, and *Pie-Grieche rouge*—and centered within a meticulously rendered arboreal setting. These depictions likely derive from contemporary natural history engravings, in keeping with the period’s neoclassical fascination with scientific exploration and taxonomy.

The wide border is richly decorated with an incised and gilt stylized fern or palm frond motif, elegantly encircling the cavetto and highlighted with a burnished gilt rim. The ornithological scenes are executed with exceptional detail, attesting to the skill of the Nast atelier’s painters and gilders.

Each plate bears the red printed mark *Nast à Paris*, the standard factory mark of the Nast porcelain manufactory active between 1783 and 1835, founded by Jean Népomucène Hermann Nast and later directed by his sons. Nast was known for its exceptional quality hard-paste porcelain and was a supplier to the Napoleonic court and later the Restoration monarchy.

These plates reflect the Enlightenment-era intersection of art and science and belong to a tradition of service wares intended for the learned elite. The combination of rich gilding, naturalist subject matter, and Parisian neoclassicism make this an exceptional decorative and historical group, perfectly suited for collectors of French porcelain or early natural history illustration.

Measures:
8.5" w. See less