Centerpiece (Surtout)

On view in gallery 260, second floor

Centerpieces or surtout such as this one, whether in silver, faience, or porcelain, functioned both as visual statements of the owners’ wealth and importance and as elaborate condiment sets. They were placed on the table at the beginning of the meal and remained through the dessert course. In most instances the center was occupied by a tureen or bowl for fruit or flowers and accompanied by a variety of containers of different shapes and sizes for spices, such as pepper, cloves, and nutmeg, as well as oil and vinegar. The eight indentations on this surtout, a feature unique to this model, were intended for salt and pepper.

The earliest decoration employed at the Strasbourg factory was a blue and white design inspired by lacework or broderie patterns typically placed in bands. This very characteristic adornment appeared in the eighteenth century in practically every decorative medium. The Strasbourg factory created its own original form of this lacework embellishment, and it appeared on a range of porcelain produced at the factory.