The present vases are copies of one of a set of thirteen pairs from the gardens at Versaille. The original vases divided the terrace of the Palace from the Parterre du Nord and the Parterre du Midi. The vases were originally designed to be executed in silver by Claude Ballin (1615 - 1678), the Kings siversmith, but due to the financial constraints caused by the war in Flanders the idea was abandoned and the designs were later cast in bronze between 1660 and 1680. The designs for the vases remained unique to Versailles until the third quarter of the 19th century when the 4th Marquis of Hentford had copies cast, thanks to his friendship with Napolean III, for his estate outside Paris the Chateau de Bagatelle between 1858 and 1870. Further copies were probably undertaken by the Marquis' son Sir Richard Wallace and today there are forty-six documented copies from the Chateau du Bagatelle. None of these copies bare foundry marks and no records exist regarding their manufacture, but the three most likely candidates are the firms of Barbezat, Barbedienne and Beardeley. A pair of the original bronze copies now form part of the Wallace Collection