The Art of Setting the Table

Pauline de Rothschild's passion for entertaining and preparing a table was particularly noteworthy, gaining both acclaim and a few magazine stories in such publications as Vogue (where Horst took the following images) and L'IL. And it's easy to see why both publications devoted space to de Rothschild's numerous designs when you look at images of her table settings, some of which are shown here. Entertaining at Château de Mouton, her husband, winemaker Philippe de Rothschild's rural home, was clearly an extravagant occasion, meticulously planned and supervised. Valentine Lawford, a writer at Vogue, put it succinctly: 

Menus are brought to her in bed.  So is a book with photographs of the luncheon and dinner services (one hundred and seventy of them, all told), and other books with swatches of the tablecloths and napkins (an equally prodigious variety) to choose from for the day.  Marie, the flower-arranger, telephones for instructions before going off on her little motor bicycle in search of moss and branches and blossoms.

For example, she used a blue and white paisley fabric to drape the table in a Vogue shot of a patio luncheon setting, while a brown and white variation of the same patterned fabric was used on a table set for pouring coffee in another photo. The paisley cloth reappears in L'IL, but this time in a purple tint, according to the magazine. 

Then there's de Rothschild's delicate Chantilly décor de brindille dinner service, a lovely blue and white china she used for the abovementioned patio luncheon as well as another table setting depicted in L'IL. A yellow tablecloth and napkins, 19th-century silver and vermeil silverware, and a moss and narcissi centerpiece completed the look. (The moss and blooms must have been picked by Marie, the flower arranger.)

"A forest of catkins, dried ferns and oak leaves spill over a mauve and white hand-blocked cloth. Polychrome Creil plates with hunting scenes. Vermeil, silver and horn knives and forks, the latter shaped like pistol handles. Emerging out of the vegetation are black metal candlesticks painted with a Japanese design. This photograph was taken in the dining room of the original house built by the present owner's grandfather. The walls are lined with linen printed in white and red. Green and gilt Napoleon III chairs."

"Another printed tablecloth, this one heaped with pine cones and needles and, almost invisible here, pots of flowers. This series of Creil plates tells the story of the capture of Orléans by the Duc de Berry. Vermeil and silver tableware."