The extensive table service by Félix Bracquemond to which this piece belongs was recognized for its revolutionary use of Japanese images and asymmetrical compositions on white, otherwise unadorned backgrounds—in contrast to traditional ceramic decorations that were arranged symmetrically in geometric patterns. All the pieces in the service, which was produced in several editions, are decorated with transfer-printed, hand-painted designs.

Bracquemond created the Rousseau service for the Paris retailer Eugene Rousseau in 1866. The service, with its images of flowers, birds, and fish borrowed from Japanese prints, was exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 to great acclaim.