Lenôtre Paris 1990 Fèves – Playing Cards & Joker – 7 Porcelain Miniatures

LENÔTRE PARIS – PLAYING CARD PORCELAIN FÈVES – COMPLETE SET – 1990

Charming and unusual complete set of 7 porcelain fèves created for Lenôtre Paris in 1990, entirely devoted to the theme of playing cards.

Each miniature takes the form of a tiny playing card, reproducing familiar figures and symbols from the traditional French deck. The series includes Aces, Kings and Queens, together with the particularly delightful Joker, illustrated with a pastry chef – an amusing reference to the celebrated Parisian pâtisserie house Lenôtre.

Despite their tiny size, the porcelain pieces are finely printed in color, with recognizable court-card details, suit symbols and indices. Their miniature format gives them the appearance of an extraordinarily small collection of real playing cards.

DETAILS

Maker / Publisher: Lenôtre Paris
Date: 1990
Theme: Playing Cards
Material: Porcelain
Number of Pieces: 7 – complete series
Designs: Aces, Kings, Queens & Joker / Pastry Chef
Display Case Size: Approx. 23.7 × 4.3 cm
Country: France

CONDITION

- The 7 porcelain fèves are in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks.
- The original wooden presentation case is also included and displays natural light signs of age and storage consistent with its vintage character.
- Please refer carefully to the photographs for the exact condition of the case and individual pieces.

🪶Collector’s Note:

Fèves have a long association with the French tradition of the Galette des Rois, but during the twentieth century they also developed into a collecting field of their own, with pâtisseries and manufacturers issuing increasingly elaborate themed series.

This 1990 Lenôtre Paris series is particularly appealing to playing-card collectors because the traditional card itself has been transformed into a miniature porcelain object. The tiny Aces and court cards retain the recognizable visual language of French playing cards, while the Joker featuring a pastry chef cleverly connects the series back to the world of Lenôtre.

Most importantly, this example has been preserved as a complete seven-piece series together with its purpose-made original wooden display case, allowing the collection to be presented exactly as a unified set rather than as individual loose fèves.