Additonal informations :The bidet first appeared in the bedrooms and boudoirs of the French aristocracy in the 18th century, likely around 1710, for better hygiene of the noble parts of the body.
A bidet was a luxury item, a marker of a high social status. A portable piece of furniture it could also be used for the feet and hair, or even a pet. Originally placed on a stand, the bidet was soon given a half-pear shape and positioned in open or closed boxes.
Etymologically the term “bidet” derives from the Old French word for a small, stout and compact post horse; the verb “bider” meaning “to trot”. The term likely alludes to the shape of a bidet and the position one assumes while using it, akin to sitting astride a horse
Rocio Diaz published a first study about the order of Philip V in 2010 and Cinta Krahe published in 2018 the first documented record of the commission, which dates back to 1774. The commission is detailed and described in the inventory of the possessions of Queen Elisabeth Farnese compiled after her death under the title “Bajilla de China del Japón con armas reales”(Chinese Dinnerware from Japan with royal arms).
The Chinese porcelain order consisted of 510 pieces, among which was a set of 286 pieces for coffee, tea, and chocolate. The service included 98 dinner plates and 33 soup plates, as well as serving dishes of different sizes, four salad bowls with “wavy edges” (similar to monteiths), six large tureens with their lids and handles, two barber basins, six urinals, five wine coolers, eight candlesticks, ten sugar bowls and two sugar casters, four mustard pots, four salt cellars, two sauceboats, and two sets of vinegar cruets. This exceptional commission was completed by two tiborvases and two basins.
The dating of the commission is still a subject for discussion. Some specialists who have studied the Chinese armorial order with the coat of arms of Philip V maintain that it was made in the early 18th century – basing their dating on an analysis of the crest, where the edging lacks the bordure gules of the Spanish Bourbon coat of arms – and that it was commissioned by the monarch himself, imported to France by the French East India Company, and taken to Spain by the King. The back of some pieces bear an underglaze blue double circle with a Buddhist mark, typical of the early Yongzheng period (1723-1735). Analogies can certainly be drawn between the order of Philip V and that of Louis XV, particularly regarding the underglaze blue pieces enameled in the famille verte palette. The connection between the French and Spanish royal orders is obvious, in particular the shapes.
Other specialists like Ignacio Conde Cervantes believe that the royal order occurred much later, circa 1735/1740, and originates from the Hispanic market of the Manila Galleon Trade. Even though this cannot be documented, it could also have been a gift from Don Fernando de Valdes y Tamon, General Captain of the Philippines, to Philip V. The main argument is that the order bearing the arms of Philip V and the one made for the Fernando Valdes y Tamon share an identical decorative motif, the chain of the Order of the Golden Fleece (it can be found on many others European orders such as the French/ Belgian O’Dwyer order). A pair of soldier vases from the Alvaro Conde collection, with a luxuriant famille rose decoration different from the one on all the other known pieces, bear on their neck the coat of arms of Philip V of Spain. They are clearly a production of the late 1730’s.
Often, the truth lies probably somewhere in the middle. Researchers and scholars often seek a single date for the commission, but it is very likely that as for the Chinese armorial porcelains bearing the coat-of-arms of King Louis XV, several successive orders were delivered over nearly 20 years, between the 1720 and 1740. These successive commissions were intended to replace broken pieces while introducing innovations in the forms or the technique of the enameling, all the while adhering to the design of the previous orders to match them.
The Philip V bidet can be compared to the ones bearing the coat of arms of Louis XV. One example in the collection of the Casa-Museum Medeiros e Almeida in Lisbon is decorated in the famille verte palette and underglaze blue. It seems to be the only recorded example where this enameling technique was used and can be dated circa 1725-1730.
A set of twelve bidets were also ordered in 1733 by the French East India Company for Louis XV. They are decorated in the “style” of the famille verte but are famille rose, with overglaze opaque enamels. A few can be found in private and public collections.
Seventy-two pieces bearing the coat of arms of Philip V are part of the Palacio Real collection in Madrid.
A tureen and dish are part of the collection of the Museo Arqueologico Nacional and another tureen and dish are the Museo de Arte Decoratives in Madrid (Spain).
