A Meissen plate from the 'Philosophisches Service' for the Marquis D'Argens, circa 1760

Painted with four trophies within floral borders emblematic of music, architecture, measurement and wise government, and a hand holding scales in the centre emblematic of Justice, brown-edged wavy rim, 23.4cm diam., crossed swords mark in underglaze-blue, impressed 54 (very minor wear)

This service was famously ordered to his own design by Frederick the Great of Prussia for his friend and advisor, Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens. The opportunity arose during the Prussian occupation of Saxony in the Seven Years War when, in Spring 1760, he was headquartered near Meissen. The king offered a gift of porcelain to his friend, who gratefully accepted and countered with an invitation to dine from the service at a "philosophical" feast. This inspired Frederick to design the service himself, with the phrase "Dubium initium sapientiae [est]" after Aristotle inscribed on the finial of the tureen and on a dish. The relatively modest scale of the service - a total of 48 plates for twelve diners and no soup or dessert plates - underscores that it was intended as an intimate gift for the private sphere. The service was delivered to the Marquis d'Argens by 22 June 1760, when he wrote an effusive letter of thanks to the king. A large portion of the service was acquired in 2000 by the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg and is now displayed in the appartement of the Marquis d'Argens in the Neues Palais in Potsdam.

See Dag Nabrdalik, DUBIUM INITIUM SAPIENTA - Das philosophische Tafelservice Friedrichs des Großen aus der Meißener Porzellanmanufaktur für Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens, in Keramos 201 (2008), pp. 41-54, for a thorough discussion of the service and associated correspondence, and Samuel Wittwer, "hat der König von Preußen die schleunige Verfettigung verschiedener Bestellungen ernstlich begehret" - Friedrich der Große und das Meißener Porzellan, in Keramos 208 (2010), pp. 17-80, for the Prussian king's interest in Meissen porcelain. Another plate from the service was sold in these Rooms, 14 December 2016, lot 125.