CIRCA 1764-1765, ELABORATE BLUE INTERLACED L MARKS ENCLOSING DATE LETTERS L AND M, THE PAINTING BY L.-D. ARMAND, WITH VARIOUS INCISED MARKS

Louis-Denis Armand l'aîné, born in 1723, initially pursued a career as a painter of lacquer 'dans le goût chinois' in Paris. In 1745, however, he joined the Vincennes manufactory, from whence he continued to Sèvres, dedicating his talent as a painter of birds, animals, landscapes and figures to the firm for a period spanning over 40 years. His presence at Vincennes and Sèvres is recorded between 1745 and 1788.

Interestingly, it was not until 1993 that the painter's mark of Armand l'aîné was correctly identified by Bernard Dragesco. Armand employed a crescent-shaped mark, occasionally drawn with the addition of elaborate interlaced L's and sometimes enclosing dots. Dragesco’s discovery was the result of meticulous research into archival payment records at Sèvres, as well as the analysis of newly discovered ornithological drawings by Armand. Previously, the mark had been mistakenly attributed to Jean-Pierre Le Doux (active 1752-1762). Armand is known to have sketched from life at the king's garden, and excelled at depicting birds in near-anthropomorphic interaction. It is perhaps because of these lively scenes that Armand was the best-compensated painter at Sèvres, receiving 100 livres each month as well as a hefty annual bonus of 1,200 livres. See Bernard Dragesco, 'Armand l’ainé peintre de nature' in John Whitehead, Sèvres sous Louis XV, naissance de la légende, 2010, pp. 90-91 for a further discussion of this notable painter.