In early 1784, Marie-Antoinette was presented a series of sample plates at Versailles and commissioned a sumptuous dinner service in the present pattern. However, upon completion in May of that year, the service was given instead by Louis XVI to Gustav III as a diplomatic gift commemorating the Swedish king's visit to France. Not to be long denied, Marie-Antoinette received her own service, in the exact same pattern and design and of the same composition plus an additional 24 large oval and round platters, on 26 August 1784. Five years later, a third service in the same pattern, described in the factory's records as '..décoration riche en couleurs et riche en or ...de la reine' was commissioned by Marie-Antoinette's sister-in-law, the comtesse d'Artois.

For a detailed discussion of the service, of its relation to those made for Marie-Antoinette and Gustav III, and of the current whereabouts of other components of the service, see David Peters, Sèvres Plates and Services of the 18th Century, Little Berkhamsted, 2005, Vol. III, p. 707, nos. 84-5, 84-8 and 84-10, as well as Vol. IV, no. 89-3.

The dating on the present plate, FF for 1783, is likely a mistake by the painter J.-J. Pierre, as occasionally occurs.