The Sceaux earthenware factory was founded in 1739 by Louis-François de Bey. In 1748, he entered into a partnership with Jacques Chapelle, and for a short time, they produced porcelain. Unfortunately, this breakthrough was short-lived. Shortly after the Sceaux factory established porcelain production, the French royal family passed a law granting only the Vincennes factory the right to produce porcelain. To ensure its survival, the Sceaux factory had to rely on earthenware production. The use of green and beetroot red is characteristic of Sceaux. Flowers, leaves, birds, putti, and pastoral scenes in the style of François Boucher are hallmarks of this period. The crescent-shaped hyacinth container in the "De Witte Zwaan" collection is decorated with panels featuring putti and landscapes in green and beetroot red. The panels are framed with, among other things, bows and a laurel frieze. The top has five round holes with loose bowls for the bulbs. In the 18th century, the hyacinth was very popular and from 1745 onwards there was a hyacinth craze in France because Madame de Pompadour had chosen the hyacinth as her favourite flower. It is known, for example, that Louis XV ordered hundreds of bulbs every year from Haarlem growers for his mistress for outdoor beds and for indoors. After 1750, special hyacinth containers made of painted earthenware came onto the market. The hyacinth container in the De Witte Zwaan collection is a beautiful example of this.