By tradition, the present plate is from a dessert service made for the distinguished French statesman and man of letters François de Chateaubriand (1768-1848). He acquired a more commonly known service in 1822. Painted with flowers resting in a trompe-l'oeil basket within a gilt-edged blue border, it was given by order of The Minister of the King's Household on behalf of King Louis XVIII to the Vicomte de Chateaubriand, then France's Minister for Foreign Affairs. Common with large services, it was delivered in four installments - 15 April 1822, 2 May 1822, December 1822 and 21 August 1823. See christies.com for further information about this service and Chateaubriand.

Born in Brittany, Chateaubriand began his career in 1791 with a visit to America, subsequently traveling widely to Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Jerusalem. He was in London from 1792 to 1800 and again as Ambassador to the Court of St. James in 1822. He also held ambassadorial posts in Berlin and Rome. Extravagant by nature as well as an acute observer of the people and events of his day, he included Madame de Récamier among his mistresses. His name is perhaps most widely known for the special filet-steak cut invented by his chef Montmiriel.

The painter's mark of paired capital S's is for Jacques Nicolas Sinsson père, active at Sèvres as a flower painter 1795-1845.