Lot Essay
These ewers are part of a distinct group of ormolu-mounted porcelain in the form of fish, mainly celadon-glazed and often with finely chased mounts naturalistically cast in the form of bullrushes and rockwork. The dating of this form is controversial as many examples are considered to date to the 19th century. A virtually identical pair with pale cobalt blue glaze is in the Widener Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and illustrated in F.J.B. Watson, Mounted Oriental Porcelain, 1986, pp. 92-93. Another pair, also considered to be 18th century, is in the collection of the Earl of Harewood, Harewood House, Yorkshire. A pair in pale blue celadon with very similar mounts is in the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the gift of Archer M. Huntington, 1927, exhibited China Art Institute, New York, Chinese Porcelains in European Mounts, October 22, 1980-January 25, 1981, no.31. Another pair with less elaborate mounts is in the James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, illustrated in G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, 1974, vol. II, pp. 766-7, no. 202. These later examples have the fish pointing upwards, leaping out of the water, as opposed to the ewers offered here, where the carp are plunging downwards, with the tails forming the spout.
Such fish-form ewers were evidently a popular form of ornament amoung Parisian collectors of the 1740's and 1750's, as numerous references can be found for sales of celadon fish in the books of marchands-merciers such as Lazare Duvaux. On June 27, 1753, he sold to the famous art collector, Jean de Jullienne, Deux poissons céladon, formant des cruches, montés en bronze doré d'or molu, 960 [livres]. Madame de Pompadour is also recorded as buying several examples from him including Deux poissons...montés en buires garnis de bronzes doré d'ormolu, purchased on 25 August 1753 for 108 livres, while another pair (bought with a pair of mounted vases of another form) cost the vast sum of 3600 livres for the four vases on 16 October 1750 (Watson, op. cit.).
Such fish-form ewers were evidently a popular form of ornament amoung Parisian collectors of the 1740's and 1750's, as numerous references can be found for sales of celadon fish in the books of marchands-merciers such as Lazare Duvaux. On June 27, 1753, he sold to the famous art collector, Jean de Jullienne, Deux poissons céladon, formant des cruches, montés en bronze doré d'or molu, 960 [livres]. Madame de Pompadour is also recorded as buying several examples from him including Deux poissons...montés en buires garnis de bronzes doré d'ormolu, purchased on 25 August 1753 for 108 livres, while another pair (bought with a pair of mounted vases of another form) cost the vast sum of 3600 livres for the four vases on 16 October 1750 (Watson, op. cit.).