Tureen with tray and spoon

The cover of the tureen depicts an extraordinary and realistic image of the results of the hunt, while the body and handles are profusely decorated with extremely ornate rocaille shell, spiral and floral motifs. The centre of the tureen bears the arms of the Aveiras family, which also appear on the circular tray with a foliated edge that supported the tureen and on the large spoon. The latter, a magnificent piece in its own right, has a long, elegant branch-shaped shaft covered by spiralling foliage and ends in a richly chased bowl.
The round tureen, more accurately called 'pot à oille', was designed to hold food that had a high liquid content, specifically stews, which had spread from Spain and would be a great success in eighteenth-century Europe. This fundamentally ornamental set reveals the importance that the customs of the French court held for the Portuguese royal family and senior aristocracy at that time.