This ewer and basin were probably made for display rather than for practical purposes. The vivid color of their pink ground, a new innovation in 1757 when this set was made, would have been particularly admired because it was expensive to produce and difficult to fire. The pink decoration with its gilded outlines imitates molded water lily leaves.

This pair is the larger of two sizes of ewers and basins of this shape made by the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, only a small number of which survive today. Scholars attribute the design of the models for this set to Jean-Claude Duplessis, the innovative head of the Sèvres modeling studio.